Once Upon A Time In New York City
by AmiraStarr
Summary: When Kitty begs Anna Marie to fill in for a one-night gig, she reluctantly agrees to the plan. When the plan grows to include joining a cross country tour, impersonating a 90s one-hit-wonder, and becoming entangled with a cocky and suave Cajun badboy, she begins to realize the imminent truth; She is either going to lose her mind or find some way to survive the trip of a lifetime.
1. Once Upon A Time In New York City

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men or anything related to the X-men. I do not own the chapter title song. The X-men are owned by Marvel, and Disney owns the title song 'Once Upon A Time In New York City'.**

 **The chapter title song is 'Once Upon A Time In New York City' from Disney's 'Oliver And Company'.**

 **This story was sitting in the back of my mind, and I figured it might be a nice piece to write when my other X-men Evolution story becomes overwhelmed with action scenes. This will have some drama, but it is going to be on the lighter romantic-comedy side. This is an AU story so there are no powers and Rogue, Remy, the other X-men, and cannon characters will meet each other throughout the story.**

* * *

"Ah don't even look like her!" Anna Marie Darkholme protested for what felt like the umpteenth time.

"Oh please," Katherine Pryde, better known to her friends as Kitty, held up the bright blonde wig and the small case that usually housed Bella Donna Boudreaux's green contacts, "You look more like her than she does!"

Anna stared at the items and tried to think of some other way to protest her best friend's craziest idea yet. Sure, she had been born with the same eye color that Bella had paid a nice chunk of change for, but that didn't mean she needed to slap on a wig and impersonate her cousin. They were just going to have to cancel the show and try again at another time.

"Oh no!" Kitty jumped on her before the words could even come out of her mouth, "We are not quitting."

" _We,_ have no singer," Anna mumbled and plopped down on the only available chair in the broom closet/dressing room.

"Look, is it like our fault Bella ran off with Taylor the latte boy?"

"No. And his name is Rick."

"Not important," Kitty shook her finger at her best friend and took a noble stance. With the wig placed against her heart, she demanded, "Is it our fault Bella dumped us to run off to who knows where with Rick the latte boy?"

"Again," Anna sighed finding the over dramatic acting a tad annoying, "It isn't our fault."

"Right!" Kitty beat the wig against her chest as if she was making her bid for electoral votes and not a one-night stand-in job, "And is it our fault that no one wants to hire two inexperienced, but like amazingly talented, artists?"

"No."

"Then why should we be punished for everyone else's stupidity?" Kitty slammed the wig on the counter and grimaced when the item slid off and onto the dirty floor.

Despite the lack of a compliant wig, Anna had to admit she was somewhat impressed by Kitty's determination.

The last time anyone had seen Bella Donna perform was during her stint as a 90s' child star. She had spent a grand total of six weeks as America's sweetheart and then faded into obscurity. It was her lack of anything resembling star recognition that had convinced her to hire a waitress/part-time songwriter and a community college student/on call make-up artist. She needed help to launch a comeback tour, as horrible as it was destined to be, and the girls needed a chance to get their feet in the door.

With Bella racing off at the last minute to some South American country with a barista, whose dad was apparently some kind of millionaire, they were indeed stuck in a difficult place. But why should they lose out on the money this one show would bring in? The bar's owner had promised them a 60-40 take on the ticket profits. It wasn't much compared to the fortunes real industry people received, but it was more than either of them saw in their part-time jobs.

"If," She held up a hand when Kitty squealed, "I said, _if,_ Kit. If we do this, how in the world am I supposed to fool all those people out there?"

"You know her songs, the wig will cover any trace of your brown hair, and the stage is small so you won't have to even try dancing."

"At least that is on my side," Anna sighed and rubbed her eyes as a sudden, stabbing headache began to form in her right temple. "I just can't believe that people will actually think that I'm Bella. They have seen her on television, remember?"

"And that was how many years ago, Anna?" Kitty ignored any more complaints and began to twist Anna's hair into a tight bun. "Let's just say that she changed a lot over the years. Stop squirming!" She pulled the hair tighter and stuck in a few bobby pins, "Besides, whatever they don't believe will be called plastic surgery."

"At least tell me that I'm not supposed to say it was botched surgery."

It took Kitty a total of ten minutes to bind Anna's wavy brown locks tightly against her head and slick back her rather bizarre white bangs. She had never been able to figure out how or where the strands of ivory hair had come from, but Anna always promised she had never died her hair. When the unruly strands were settled in place, she plopped the wig onto her friend's head and began to unmercifully plunge pins in each hidden space.

For her part, Anna tried in vain to sit still while her teeth created painful bruises on her bottom lip. Although she had never considered herself a girly girl, she knew enough about makeup and fashion trends to get by. Strapping a blonde wig on her head that Kitty began to curl and plump with abandon, did not qualify as just getting by. Each glance in the dusty mirror, made her feel more and more like some prize show dog.

Honestly, it didn't make sense that they even had a blonde wig to begin with. Her cousin had never been the easiest person to understand or get along with either. Anna had known of Bella Donna since her freshmen year of high school in Mississippi, but the blonde beauty had never even glanced her way until her father married the cousin of Anna's mother, Raven Darkholme.

After that little disaster of a family event, Bella and her father had suffered a major falling out, to put it mildly. She had stayed with Anna's family for the middle part of her junior year and throughout her entire senior year of high school. Anna would never have expected years of bathroom hogging, random late night parties Anna was conveniently not invited to attend, and an endless parade of boyfriends who seemed unaware that a thing called personal space existed would have landed them here.

Maybe she should have been more grateful for her distant family connection to Bella. That small glimmer of familial love had gotten her the job. Well, familial love and her willingness to take an extremely cut-rate pay curve. And since Bella had decided to spend what probably would have been the rest of Anna and Kitty's paychecks for the next six weeks, on a new wig and different colored eyes, they should probably get some use out of the items.

"Alright," Kitty let go of the mass of golden hair and held up her fingers as if she was surveying a mine field, "That will do for today. Next time, I'll start earlier and make a few changes."

"Next time? What next time?" Anna wheezed out behind a cloud of hair spray before a loud rap on the door nearly sent her off her chair. The man behind the jolting noise shouted out a warning time that Anna could barely hear and left before anyone could question his orders.

Kitty raced from her friend to the other side of their cramped room and grabbed Bella's dress. Thankfully, she hadn't been too concerned with packing her stuff up before running off with her newest _friend_. No, apparently, as she had said in her fleeting note, Rick would take care of everything and she would merely send for her things later, if they were absolutely needed. Which of course, she doubted they ever would be.

It wasn't a bad dress in Kitty's opinion. With its slinky body style and midnight blue color, it was bound to offer almost any girl a few interested glances from eligible bachelors. But Anna, who continued to clutch at the hem of her sweatshirt awkwardly, seemed hesitant to try it on either way.

Bella had the tan and the curves to fill the dress with ease, but Anna doubted she was going to come even close to filling the same cup size as her cousin. But Kitty, determined to make this last minute change-up work, unzipped the dress and flung it at her poor friend.

"I will look dead you know," Anna grumbled as she pulled off her sweatshirt and tight jeans.

"Then you should visit that wonderful thing called the sun more often, instead of staying cooped up inside." Kitty retorted with a small smile coating her own lightly tanned face.

She waited till her friend had the front of the dress straightened, and then zipped the back all the way to the top. She noticed how much easier it was to get the zipper past the normally tight spots on Bella, but didn't mention it to Anna. Her friend needed all the confidence she could muster today, and mentioning that her cousin was able to fill out the dress a little easier wouldn't help.

She could at least offer one piece of comfort, "You know, I think she must pad her bra like crazy to fill out that top."

"Yeah," Anna nodded and tried to snap on a simple black necklace, "You should have seen her at the senior prom. One of the water bags sprung a leak and well…"

Despite the juicy tidbit that promised to start a hilarious tale, Kitty reigned in her curiosity and gave Anna a quick once over. It was true that she could pull off Bella's new green-eyed look easily, but the real test was going to be on stage. There was only so much voice differences that they could pretend were normal effects of aging. If Anna busted out a note that Bella would never have been able to hit, they would be bound to attract unwanted attention.

"Are you sure we can do this?" Anna felt her internal critics begin their usual taunts and tried to take slow, deep breaths. "If we back out now, no one will ever have to know I was considering walking out in public with a show dog strapped to my head."

"It is a very fashionable hairstyle, for one." Kitty folded her arms tightly across her chest and gave Anna a sunshiny smile, "And two, you can do this Anna. One song and it will all click together in your brain… Hopefully…"

" _Hopefully_?" Anna gawked at her with wide eyes, as the door to their dressing room opened and the stagehands began to usher her out to the waiting public.

Kitty was spared any further explanation thanks to a rather determined stagehand, whom grabbed the reluctant star's wrist and led her through the maze of the dark backstage. He rattled off bits of information about the sound set-up and the band, but Anna's mind was already swirling. She found herself unable to think of anything but the image of her cousin bursting into the bar and ripping the wig right off of her head. If this went sour, Bella would officially kill her.

"Alright," The stagehand let go of her and grabbed her shoulders when the unsteady girl tripped forward, "You are going to get a quick intro and then head on out. You got this?"

Would he have listened if she screamed, no? Anna doubted it with every fiber of her being. The stagehand already looked tired of seeing her face and they had only spent five minutes together max. Instead of a verbal response, she merely nodded her head affirmatively and considered if the pins Kitty had jabbed into her skull would stay put.

The introduction, which was as short if not shorter then the man had explained, began only seconds later. A large spotlight lit up the center of the tiny stage and beckoned for someone to come and steal its glamor and sparkle. It was supposed to be her out there, but Anna kept her two feet glued to the floor of the left side wing.

The introduction repeated once more and a hard shove sent her stumbling into the center of the stage. She glanced back and spotted Kitty with a large thumbs up, watching her from the safety of the wings. The audience remained silent, but their eyes were already roaming up and down her body as if they could sense this was not the real Bella Donna.

Anna cleared her throat, walked up to the lone microphone, and tried to dissuade her nerves by merely talking to the group, "Good evening."

A few of the men in the back chuckled and a woman at the table about three rows back gave her the most depressing sigh of sympathy. The lights offered no way to hide the look of terror attempting to spread across Anna's make-up coated face. Had she really thought that a simple waitress in a run-down restaurant could entertain a crowd of rowdy bar patrons?

"Sing Anna!" Kitty whispered as hard as she could and tried to motion to the bar's resident band.

The music began almost immediately and Anna found herself growing slightly more comfortable on the stage. She knew this tune frontwards and backward, mainly because she had written it only three weeks ago. It was the song that had finally convinced Bella that Anna had true potential to make it in the business. This was the song that easily captured Anna Marie's heart and soul.

It captivated her so completely, that before she knew what was happening, the words began to pour out of her mouth as smoothly as the day she had first written the piece.

Once the young woman's voice began to drift through the bar, the rowdy patrons began to quiet down and turn their full attention to the soulful blonde. Her hips swayed seductively with each note she graced them with. Although she barely moved from her spot in center stage, a majority of the men in the room began to stare her down with fire hot intensity.

In the very back of the room, a man with deep crimson brown eyes watched the girl with a different type of scrutiny. He knew she was beautiful, and he would be the first to admit it was extremely enjoyable to watch her curvy body sway back and forth to the tune, but there was something else about this girl that fascinated him. Behind the nervous exterior lay a diamond in the rough.

With the right amount of training, confidence, and time this girl could really make it in the business. The soulful and silky quality of her voice as she hit a note higher than he expected she could, was more than enough proof that he needed to keep his eyes on this particular starlet.

Up on stage, the girl had already launched into a new song with a slightly quicker beat. He titled his sunglasses down and tried to get a better view of the blonde when a loud rip echoed across the room. The girl stumbled back a step and he noticed a piece of her dress was stuck to the front left side of the stage. Out of pure curiosity, he nixed his companion's plan to go ahead and head out for their dinner reservations and remained firmly planted in his seat. What was the starlet going to do now?

Anna inwardly groaned as she tried to survey the damage to her dress and keep the song going. Not only was she impersonating her cousin, now she was the proud destroyer of a dress that cost more than her life savings. The slit was jagged and had reached all the way up to her lower thigh.

The audience that had once been eating out of her hand, had been woken rudely from her spell by the ungraceful costume mishap. The men in the back began to snicker ever so slightly as the women shook their heads in a mix of disgrace and sympathy.

Anna took a breath and forced herself to woman-up to the situation. She was already this far down the rabbit hole, so why not go all the way?

The moment the guitarist hit the start of the rock finish to the song, Anna reached down and ripped the torn dress right off of her legs. The resulting gown, a short, jagged thing that showed off the curves of her legs, fit perfectly as she stepped closer to the mic and unleashed the strongest ending she could to the song.

The crowd froze as the dress shreds floated off the stage and glittered in the stage lights. Then, every man and women in the bar let out a loud round of applause as well as quite a few whistles from the rowdier men. They cheered along as the blonde ignored her dress issues and continued to fly forward into a smashing finale.

By the time her moment on stage had finished, Anna had found a new side to herself. She had always enjoyed creating songs, but she never knew how powerful the sound of thundering applause could truly be. As the men continued to whistle and even a few women let out cheers, her heart began to swell inside her chest. Maybe, though she would never admit it to Kitty, maybe they should do a next time.

In the far back of the bar, the mysterious man stood up from his chair and joined his fellow audience members by gently applauding the young woman. She was rough, but he had an intuitive feeling that she was going to make something big out of herself. Yes, he was definitely going to keep this little starlet in his sights.

* * *

 **Did anyone catch the Kristin Chenoweth reference? : ).**


	2. Why Not

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own X-Men. I Also Do Not Own the song 'Why Not'. I Also Do Not Own YouTube.**

 **Thanks for reading the newest chapter everyone!**

 **The chapter title song is 'Why Not' by Hilary Duff.**

* * *

At eight a.m. on the dot, the banging sound began to reverberate through the tiny apartment. It was quick and so steady that the sleepy brunette was almost certain it was part of her growing migraine. No one with any grasp of the concept known as sanity would dare to approach her at this hour. Especially when anyone who might pay them a visit knew she hadn't made it home until four a.m. _Yes_ , she figured as her head laid back down on the pillow, _it has to be in my head_.

"Anna," The man next to her mumbled her name sleepily and reached out a hand to shake her shoulder, "Anna… What is that?"

"My headach-" Anna paused for a moment and opened her eyes. Could he hear it too? "I don't know." She admitted and forced herself out of bed, "But I'll go see."

As Anna stumbled down the hallway she began to imagine various scenarios in which her visitor could be tortured. Why no one had ever created a door that electrocuted people if they dared to knock before ten a.m., she didn't know. Maybe if the songwriting thing tanked she could go into inventing.

"Hello?"

"Anna!" Kitty burst into the entryway as soon as Anna cracked the door open. "Where have you been?"

The brunette blinked slowly through sleep-coated eyes and stared down at her disheveled tank top and boxer combo. _Was that supposed to be a rhetorical question?_ She wondered as Kitty stared her down with as much intensity as her tiny face could muster.

"I called you at least fifteen times!"

"Kitty," Anna plopped onto the couch, her favorite thrift store find, and leaned back into the plush cushions, "There is this thing called sleep that I enjoy from time to time."

"You can sleep later!" Kitty jumped onto the other side of the couch and flipped on Anna's television. "You need to see this."

Kitty flipped through a few channels and finally settled on a local New York news station. The familiar commercial break filler music filtered loudly from the speakers, forcing Anna to pop open one eye, "Turn it down Kit, you'll wake up Cody."

"Well, maybe he like needs to see this too!" Kitty declared, not changing her volume in the slightest.

Anna opened both eyes and took the remote from her friend. She turned the volume down to a much lower level and was about to offer Kitty a smart remark when a familiar face popped onto the screen. A frozen image of Anna dressed in her midnight blue gown filled up a small box to the left of the newscaster's head. In order to get an idea of how she had wound up on the local news of such a large city, Anna turned the volume back up a few notches and leaned forward in shock.

"In local news," The stiff looking man announced as Anna's picture overtook the scene and they replayed her dress rip and rock solo, "A new YouTube star has been born right here in New York city. Bella Donna Boudreaux, the girl America first met as a tiny child, has returned to the stage with a brand new attitude. During her first concert since her brief fame as a child, she turned a stage malfunction into a rather memorable event."

Anna shook her head slowly and tried to remember how to make her eyes blink.

"The video of the concert has already been viewed by over two million users, and is still being shared like wildfire throughout different social media sights."

With shaky hands, Anna clutched the remote and flipped off the television before she could hear his fellow morning newscasters discuss her dress incident. How had the incident become this big? The concert was in a tiny bar and it had been even shorter than they originally planned.

Where were the angry fans claiming they had been ripped off? Where were the people claiming Bella Donna had lost any shred of talent and looked nothing like her old self? Where were the reactions Anna had expected to wake up to?

"Can you believe it?" Kitty squealed and hugged her friend tightly. She graciously let go after only a few minutes, mainly because Anna offered no opposition to the gesture, and stared at her friend's wide green eyes. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah…" Anna mumbled and finally nodded her head, "Well… I think I will be… Maybe…"

Kitty stood up from the couch and grabbed a water bottle from Anna's fridge. She handed it to the shocked girl and took her spot on the couch again. She had expected Anna to be surprised, but this was beginning to seem more like comatose.

"I guess I shouldn't tell you the other news then?"

Anna slowly drank her water and took a few short breaths to steady herself, before giving Kitty her full attention, "No," she tried to stabilize her voice and regain her normal mental functions, "Go ahead. Tell me everything else."

"That's my Anna!" Kitty cheered then lowered her voice as Anna pointed towards the bedroom Cody was still sleeping in. "Well, this morning I got a call from the biggest morning talk show in the city. They saw the clip and want to interview Bella Donna for their 'Where Are They Now?' segment! They even offered you a chance to perform on their 'Summer Songs' stage."

"You mean they offered _Bella_ a chance to perform on the stage." Anna sighed and rubbed her temples tiredly, "In fact, it is the real Bella that they want to interview too."

"The real Bella wasn't even there!" Kitty protested firmly, "You did that amazing performance. You should get to go on the show."

"I already impersonated her on stage, I can't do it on national television."

"Like, what is the worst that could happen?" Kitty shrugged her shoulders and was already too far gone to be brought back down to reality.

 _What would be the best place to start?_ Anna thought as she considered the hundreds of disasters this could spin into motion. Bella could see her and start a nasty family feud. They could get caught on live television with all of America watching her crumble. Of course, there was also the chance it could go well and she would become famous by impersonating an old celebrity and have to be Bella Donna for the rest of her life. _Wouldn't that be fun?_ She sarcastically grumbled inside her head.

"Nope." Anna finally announced as Kitty's face began to fall. "This would just be too much. I am not going to prance around as Bella on live television."

"Do you realize just how much this could mean?" Kitty, ever the optimist, tried once more to reach her stubborn friend, "The money from this one news session could easily get us out of a large amount of debt. Not to mention how many other places sent requests for interviews."

"What other places?" Anna turned back to face Kitty and found the tiny girl growing an even larger grin than before.

Kitty fished out her phone from the bottom of her fake designer bag and thrust it into Anna's face. The brunette took it and started to scan the list of e-mails Kitty had received. There were a few that Anna didn't recognize, but a larger portion of them were reputable internet sites and television companies. She had never imagined when they signed Kitty's name on the bar contract as Bella's manager that it would go farther than a few phone calls for possible reappearances on live mic nights.

She opened the message from New York's Morning News and skimmed the information. They really seemed interested in using Bella for a small segment or two and had expressed enough interest to even give Kitty a personal call. When she reached the bottom of the page, she let out a low whistle and reread the offered price.

"So?" Kitty grinned like a Cheshire Cat. "What do you say?"

Anna bit her lip and tried to think over the whole crazy idea. The amount offered would be more than enough to cover her electric, food, and even some new demo CDs for a good two months. But was she really going to parade as her cousin in order to get a little money?

"Kitty?"

The girls turned to see a very tired looking Cody walk out of the bedroom. He had on a pair of basketball shorts and mismatched socks but didn't seem to care that Kitty was seeing him in such disarray. He had been dating Anna since their senior year and had been part of the deal when Kitty became part of Anna's life. Although she never would dare to admit it to her best friend, Cody was a part of Anna's life that Kitty would rather avoid.

It wasn't as if he had done anything to directly upset her. No, that would imply that Cody had been willing to actually do something or say something to her. Instead, he mainly ignored Anna's friends and merely gave off a sort of vibe that screamed 'I peaked in high school and am now sponging off the girlfriend who doesn't realize she could do a thousand times better.'

"Good morning, Cody," Kitty remained as cheerful as she could, figuring it wasn't her place to start any argument if Cody made Anna happy and treated her right. Anna was a grown woman, and as much as Cody bothered Kitty, she couldn't control who her friend dated.

"Hey," He kissed Anna's cheek then scratched lazily his chest, "What are you doing here so early?"

"I was just telling Anna that the New York Morning News station wants to interview h-"

"Bella!" Anna burst in, shutting Kitty out with a mere look, "They want Bella to be on the 'Where Are They Now?' segment."

Cody merely nodded his head and mumbled something about the concert last night going well then. Anna stepped between Kitty and her boyfriend, knowing full well that Kitty could not be trusted to play down their antics from last night. If Cody had called the moon stupid, Kitty would have probably burst into a long speech about the moon's immense benefits. It was like fire and water with those two.

"Hun," Anna smiled as sweetly as she could, "Why don't you go get some more sleep before you have to get ready for work? You have the double shift at the garage today, right?"

Cody sucked a deep breath through his teeth and offered Anna the same puppy dog face he had when he lost the last three jobs. She groaned softly and tried to ignore the awkwardness of having this conversation with an audience present.

"Cody, we needed that money for the bills. You know I had to cut back a few shifts to help Bella rehearse and plan for the concert."

"I know, Annie." He tried the cutesy names, but found his girlfriend was a harder nut to crack this time, "Look, I'll head out today and find something even better. You know how good I am at finding new work. Besides, Bella will probably give you a big bonus for helping her land this interview."

He looked past Anna for a moment and glanced at Kitty, "How did she get so much attention from one bar show anyway?"

"She ripped off half her dress." Kitty shot back which forced a small primal growl out of Cody's lips.

"I'd watch that." He joked and kissed Anna fully on the lips, "I promise I'll find something soon, Annie. We will be fine. I promise. You know I love you, right?"

"I know." She admitted feeling torn between the warmth of his kiss and a small knot twisting in the pit of her stomach, "I love you, too."

Once Cody had disappeared into the darkness of the bedroom to shower and change, Anna let out a sigh and forced herself to look at Kitty. Her friend seemed to realize that she was in no mood to discuss the tragedy that was her personal finances.

"So?" Kitty prodded with a gentle tone as Anna ran a hand through her multi-colored locks.

"Well, if we wanna eat or have any shelter for the next few months," Anna shook her head as she played the only move left in her playbook, "It looks like Bella Donna is going to have to make another appearance."


	3. Celebrity

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men or anything related to the X-men. I do not own the chapter song 'Celebrity' either. I do not own the 'Hunger Games'. I do not own YouTube.**

 **Hello, everyone! The chapter title song, this time, is, 'Celebrity.' by Brad Paisley.**

 **Thank you to my first two reviewers tenchi13 and RogueGambit3, you both rock. And thank you to all of my readers too. :). I appreciate you taking time out to read this tale and/or review the story.**

* * *

Anna sat still in the make-up chair while Kitty tried to decide between two different colors of eye shadow. It had taken about twenty minutes to narrow down the choices from the original seventeen available colors. The younger brunette was currently holding the two choices up to each eye and mumbling random thoughts under her breath.

When they had arrived at the station, the girls had been prepared to throw a minor diva fit if needed to get a private space to work in. But the overly cheerful production assistant who had greeted them in the lobby had been more than happy to give them whatever they desired. She had brought them to a room that Anna was certain could have housed at least two people for months.

On the table in the center of the room was a menagerie of gift boxes containing everything from basic fruit and water to something they could only guess was a type of Brazilian fish candy. Around the table were sleek looking couches that hinted to a fancy European store that Anna had seen advertised on tv. Even the bathroom had been stocked with three different kinds of toilet paper and a wide assortment of hand soaps.

"Anna," Kitty sighed as the girl let out a large yawn, "You need to wake up. Your call time is in a half hour."

Anna scratched at the wig, which had only been laid loosely on her head so they could sneak in without having to explain why they hadn't brought the real Bella. Kitty gently thumped her hand and pulled the wig off. She had tried repeatedly to explain how delicate the wig really was, but Anna still wasn't listening.

"In case you haven't noticed, Kit." Anna stifled another giant yawn as best she could, "It is three in the morning."

"And you had to work double shifts last night at the restaurant," Kitty added the last bit quietly, but not too quietly that Anna wasn't able to hear it.

Anna toyed with the idea of denying the fact she was busting her butt with extra shifts, but it seemed pointless. Kitty knew far too much about her life to be dissuaded with any basic ploy or excuse.

"He is close to landing a job with a new garage on Fifth Street," Anna said as she busied herself with straightening out her shirt.

"Good for him," Kitty answered and sincerely meant it. Anna needed some good news and Cody landing a job would be good for both of them. Even if his track record said he would be out on his butt within a month, it was at least a little more money that Anna wouldn't have to cough up to keep a roof over their heads.

"Alright," she pulled out the winning eye shadow and placed it in Anna's hand, "You will be wearing the proud color, light desert."

"You mean brown?"

Kitty furrowed her brow, "I mean, light desert. And now we need to find a lipstick."

Anna groaned and leaned back into her plush chair to grab a few minutes of sleep while Kitty started a new round of the make-up version of 'The Hunger Games'.

By the time Anna was dolled up enough to fool the national television viewing audience, she could hardly recognize herself anymore. Kitty had given her a more relaxed hair-do, saying something along the lines of the morning didn't call for a big show hair-do, but it still felt so strange on Anna's head. She would never be able to get used to seeing a blonde in the mirror.

The rest of the crew and even the anchors of the show seemed completely fooled by the wig and greeted her with open arms. In fact, the tallest of the anchors, a fit middle-aged man whose forehead never wrinkled, offered her a light hug and an air kiss to both cheeks. He continued to show more interest in Anna than she expected, or wanted for that matter, causing the two female co-anchors to roll their eyes and call him something that sounded close to 'hound dog' under their breaths.

Anna sat on a chair to the left of the shortest anchor and fidgeted with the hem of her blouse, while the cameraman began a countdown to the start of the show. Kitty stood offstage to the side with the cheery production assistant and tried to whisper positive things to her friend. The assistant shushed her before Anna could decipher the phrases and motioned for her to face the cameras aimed at her face.

"Bella Donna," The news anchor lady the others had called Taylor, turned towards Anna after finishing a statement Anna hadn't even noticed the anchor begin. Whatever she had said, brought out a large amount of clapping from the studio audience.

"Hi," Anna mumbled and waved at the fans, who cheered once more.

"Bella," The anchor began again and had to raise her voice to grab Anna's attention, "Is it alright if we call you, Bella?"

"What? Oh, yeah. I mean, sure. That is my name…"

"I see," Taylor was less than amused by the uncooperativeness of her guest. "It really is a lovely name."

"What is?" Anna asked turning from the scarily well-lit audience to face a slightly annoyed woman. "Oh, my uh, name… right. Well actually," she tried to think up something that would sound less stupid then admitting she forgot her own name in the craziness of the moment, "I have been using a new name now."

Kitty's jaw dropped as she watched a train wreck begin to form in slow motion. They had worked so hard to get Anna into the Bella Donna role and now she was adding another crazy level to this charade? She tried to motion a cut-it-out message to Anna, but the girl was in far too deeply to notice.

"Really?" The anchor perked up at the sound of new information they could claim as their discovery, "Please, tell us about it. Did the bar not want to use the new name?"

"Well, you know how those things go." _What things in the world am I even talking about?_ Anna thought before noticing how the anchors all nodded their heads in agreement. Slowly, the idea that they were willing to swallow whatever stupid thing she said began to overtake her.

"So, don't keep us in suspense!" The other female anchor spoke up for the first time and tried to get the audience to chant with her, "Tell us the name."

"Sure," Anna stalled as best she could by dragging out the word.

She needed to tell them something, but what? If any part of her real name were used in the stage name she would be found out for sure. It would have to be something completely unrelated to her real life.

The crew gave her a sign that was most likely meant to hurry her up, and she found herself staring at the center cameraman's t-shirt. It was solid black and had fancy white writing across the chest that said, 'Mississippi Rogue's Bar and Grill.' The light bulb clicked almost instantly as so many familiar words flooded her senses.

With confidence, she couldn't explain, Anna turned to the anchors and said, "The name is Rogue."

The audience cheered and seemed to buy that the title had been much more thought out than it really had. The male newscaster laughed in surprise and slapped his knee happily. He mentioned something about loving her new rock edge and offered two more basic questions before they went to a break.

"This is going great!" Kitty smiled as Anna walked with her later to the outdoor stage the studio had set up for all of their summer music guests. "I can't believe you like pulled off the name thing. Honestly, I would have never picked ' _Rogue_ ' but they ate it up."

"Yeah, funny how that worked out," Anna laughed half-heartedly and tried to send a mental thank you to the cameraman.

The stage set in the front of the building's courtyard was already surrounded by people when Anna and Kitty stepped outside. They cheered loudly after the first person spotted the re-invented blonde star. A few shouted Bella, but a growing group in the middle of the crowd was yelling her new stage name with greater force. The name 'Rogue' eventually won out and the entire audience joined in the excited shouting.

"Whoa," Kitty smiled even larger, despite Anna's belief it wasn't humanly possible, "Can you believe this? Pinch me, I must be dreaming!"

Anna fought the urge to reach out and fulfill Kitty's wish. From the moment they had stepped out from the safety of the hallway, she knew they were being watched. Cameras (professional and amateur), cell phones, and human eyes were staring at each rise and fall of her chest. She tried to pretend she was just being paranoid, but the production assistant who came up to them kept mentioning just how impressive the crowd was for this performance.

Anna just stayed silent, for fear of turning tail and running for the hills. She could feel her bottom lip being practically destroyed by her teeth, but was unable to stop the onslaught. Anything that kept her grounded was fair game in the young woman's book as she climbed the few steps and took her place in the center of the stage.

The band began the first intro chord to her now famous dress rip song, and Anna forced herself to take a large breath and open her mouth for the first lyric to escape.

When the performance was over and Anna had taken the last bow, she scanned the sidelines for a sign of Kitty. She was rather surprised to find no hint of the woman behind the roped off section for actors and crewmembers. It wasn't like Kitty to vanish without telling her at least a goodbye.

Was she possibly being hounded by the station owners for bringing the wrong Bella Donna? Feeling a new sense of dread enter her mind, Anna did her best to get past the autograph-seeking fans and into the secluded area, where she had last seen her friend.

She found Kitty inside the hallway connecting their private section to the stage area. The brunette was busily talking on her cell and seemed to be trying to negotiate a time for something. Anna knew that Kitty had a knack for missing study group assignments with her community college classmates, so she tried to pretend the call was something simple like a forgotten time or new date arrangement.

When Kitty spotted her, she held up a finger to signal that she needed a minute and turned her attention back to the phone call. She offered a few more positive agreements, then thanked whoever was on the line, and hung up with a motion so quick Anna could barely follow it with her eyes.

"Do you know who that was?"

"How could I?" Anna shrugged her shoulders unsure why Kitty was celebrating in the middle of an empty hallway.

"You have just been invited to become the opening act in a coast to coast tour!" Kitty jumped up as the excitement bubbled over and she could no longer hold in her urge to move.

"Who in the world wants a random YouTube performer as an opening act?"

"Only one of the hottest groups in the country!" Kitty continued her partying by striking a pose that stuck out one finger at her friend and angled the other arm at her side to make her look like a very confident teapot. "The Gambit."

"What?" Anna blinked and tried to wrap her mind around the news.

The Gambit was a band that Anna had not only heard of before, but had seen advertised throughout tabloids, newspapers, Internet sites, and even television shows. They were completely legitimate and there was no way in the world they would pick an unknown to open their concerts.

"I think someone is pulling your leg, Kit." Anna sighed as the pressure left her body and she linked an arm through Kitty's teapot handle, "Come on, let's get out of here and have lunch… or would it be breakfast still?"

"This isn't a joke!" Kitty protested and pulled her arm out from Anna's grasp. "I seriously just spoke to his manager."

"Sure, sure," Anna felt her stomach growl and decided to play along if it meant they could leave the station, "The manager and the star all want me to join their tour."

"They do."

Kitty's tone was serious, but Anna continued to dismiss the idea. Things like this just did not happen. As much as Kitty liked to pretend they were destined for a straight shot to fame and fortune, it just wasn't true. What was true was that Kitty was being played for a fool by some prank phone call and Anna couldn't help feeling sorry for her friend.

"Okay." She relented and placed a hand on Kitty's shoulder, "I believe you."

"Really?" Kitty perked up immediately and added, "So you want to do it?"

"Well, yeah. Why not? It would be fun if we could actually be part of a big tour like that." Anna shrugged her shoulders again as Kitty began to waltz past her in an overjoyed state, "Maybe someday we will actually get a real chance to do it."

"Oh, it is real." Kitty continued dancing down the halls, "We sign the papers on Tuesday!"

"Papers? What papers, Kitty?"

Kitty ignored the question and forced Anna to chase after her demanding to know who had actually been on the other end of the phone call.


	4. Real Good Man

**Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men Evolution or anything else related to the X-men. I do not own the chapter title song 'Real Good Man' either. I do not own 'Thomas The Train' either.**

 **The title song for this chapter is 'Real Good Man' by Tim McGraw.**

 **Thank you for reading the newest chapter everyone! :). I hope you are enjoying this story.**

* * *

The cool breeze of his ceiling fan woke the crimson-eyed boy from a rather peaceful slumber. He was almost certain that he had fallen asleep with a blanket, but now his hands could find no sign of a sheet or even his quilt. He cracked open his eyes and groaned as the full force of the light began to invade his vision.

In the center of the room stood a tall and curvy redhead outfitted in a very well tailored blue dress. She stared at him with a look of frustration and annoyance that forced her prey to focus on her.

Remy LeBeau, star of the extremely famous band 'The Gambit', was not the type of red-blooded male to ignore a beautiful woman standing in the middle of his bedroom. In fact, a few of his best romantic experiences had started with a scene very similar to this one. And how was he supposed to ignore the way she stuck out her bottom lip and crinkled her forehead?

"Does seven on-the-dot mean anything to you?"

The woman, who happened to (unfortunately, if you asked her) be his over-worked, no-nonsense personal assistant Jean Summers, asked and let out a sigh as she threw him a t-shirt from his closet.

"It only be se-" The man rubbed his eyes and stared at the clock, "Damn, it is already eight twenty."

"That is what I said!" Jean protested and began to shuffle around the room.

How Remy had never learned to pick up after himself escaped the woman. He was a grown man with multiple gold records under his belt, and he couldn't master a laundry hamper? Her son could understand how to put his clothes up, and he was three.

"Mommy!"

Speaking of her son, she turned around to see the little boy standing in the doorway a toy train clutched in each of his hands. The little boy was used to visiting the homes of famous people, but he never seemed to realize just whose house his mother took him to visit. It was probably for the best since Remy had a few words in his song lyrics that she didn't want the boy to learn.

"Big Nate?" Remy's accent coated voice floated through the room again and caused the boy to grin happily. He took off running towards Remy and laughed loudly when the man picked up the youngster and turned him upside down. Remy repeated the gesture and the boy erupted into full-blown laughter.

"Remy, please don't drop my son," Jean smiled in spite of herself as she watched Remy and Nathan play. It was the sweet side of the rough Cajun man that made up for his less desirable qualities. Well, it usually made up for most of his indiscretions. The latest problem he had given them was almost as annoying as his makeshift solution.

"Nathan," Jean smiled at the boy and plucked him from Remy's arms, "Let's go grab some breakfast in the kitchen while uncle Remy gets a _fast_ shower and change of clothes."

The pointed word had not escaped Remy and he shrugged his shoulders to admit defeat. It had been his idea to change up their tour plans at the last minute, so he probably owed them a bit of cooperation.

After a shower and a fast change of clothes, Remy began to feel reenergized. He wasn't too big a fan of paparazzi, but today even the flash of the cameras as he exited his apartment with Jean and her son didn't bother him. Feeling on top of his game, he had even managed to convince Jean to let him stop in a toy store nearby his apartment building to pick up a new train for Nathan before they grabbed a cab and headed to their meeting.

When they entered the tall office building, Jean immediately switched into her multi-tasking genius mode. She managed to keep Remy from the attractive secretary, Nathan from the shiny elevator buttons, and even had an extra moment to answer a phone call from her husband. She hadn't noticed their matching expressions, but the two men in her company continued to stare at her as if she was some unstoppable villainess.

"There you are." Ororo Munroe, Remy's also overworked and probably over-stressed, manager greeted them the moment their group entered the conference room. She was dressed in a professional business suit and had pulled her silver locks back into a more controlled style. It was the first sign that she was not happy with their current predicament.

As long as he had known Ororo, which had been the majority of his musical career, she had been a very earthy and calm woman. Sure, she could bring out a temper that scared even the playboy LeBeau into submission, but her normal flowy personality had always been something he looked forward to. She reminded him a lot of his mother, or what he would have imagined his mother would have been like.

"Are you mad at unc' Remy?" Even Nathan had been able to pick up on Ororo's inner storm of emotions.

"Of course not, child." Ororo gently pet his hair and re-directed his attention to a writing pad of paper and a box of crayons his mom had brought in his 'Thomas The Train' backpack. Once Nathan was settled, she turned her head back to Remy and offered a much less forgiving expression.

"Remember your blood pressure, Petit." Remy offered her a small crooked grin, but Ororo was not having any of his flattery and charm.

"Sit." She pointed to a chair and waited until Remy followed the direction, before continuing, "After the events of last week," she paused a moment before placing a few supermarket tabloids in front of him, "We lost not only our opening band for the tour, but also a great deal of the good press you had built up."

He flipped through one of the magazines with the most unforgiving title on his story spot and read a few of the lines. The main singer from the opening band had gotten mad that he was not willing to turn their few nights of fun into something more serious. She had flown into a rage during one rehearsal, stomped out of the room, and submitted her tragic tale to every reporter willing to listen. And boy, had they been willing to listen…

Sure, the story she painted was unflattering and not completely accurate (he had never even met her mother, let alone threatened to trash the lady's guest room) but it wasn't the worst thing she could have done. Bad press was part of the job for the bad boy of the music scene. The girls always seemed to be disappointed when he acted his age and not his shoe size. It wasn't like the magazines would ever publish how many groupies he had kicked out of his various hotel rooms when he discovered they had broken in.

No, this wasn't so much about the press circus as it was about the loss of their opening act. They left on a cross-country tour in a little under two weeks and they had no one to open the show and get everyone hyped for his performances. The last few tours had their opening acts booked and signed almost a year before the tour was slated to begin.

"That is the picture they pick?" He mumbled under his breath and flipped the page to see if anything else was printed about his lack of a relationship with a wannabe star. She had used far too much electronic vocalizers in her performances for his taste anyway.

"That is not the point, Remy." Jean sighed and pushed the magazines aside, "We are missing a pretty big part of the tour."

"I already told you that we have a much better option coming."

"A woman who you saw perform in a seedy bar does not count as an automatic opening act." Ororo groaned and tried to make Remy understand just how outlandish his logic was to the two ladies, "All we know about her is that she sang a cute song on television as a child, performed in one bar act, and had a brief interview on a news station."

That was more than Remy had when he started, and it was more than enough to convince him they should give the starlet a chance. How was anyone supposed to become a big star if no one took a chance on them? Ororo had taken a chance on Remy and look where it had gotten them. The least they could do was help someone else out.

"Bella Donna,"

"Rogue," Remy interrupted Jean to clarify the name.

"What? Oh, right, the new stage name." Jean sighed and leaned against the table, "Well, how do we know, Rogue, is ready to face crowds as big as these? If she freezes on stage or tries to quit in the middle of the tour, we will be in deep trouble."

"Excuse me," A small voice interrupted the discussion and forced the three adults to turn their eyes to the door.

A skinny brunette with shiny blue eyes entered first, then ushered in a very nervous looking blonde behind her. Remy stood up from his seat and offered both women a sincere smile. His eyes lingered a moment longer on the nervous blonde, who immediately stiffened upon noticing his gaze. She pushed her nervous expression back and pulled out a rather obstinate look to take its place. The change honestly surprised him and forced a small chuckle to escape his mouth.

"Welcome," Ororo tried to ignore Remy's behavior and ushered the two women into the room. She shook their hands in turn and noticed how cold the blonde's hand was when it touched hers. "I am so glad that you were able to make it today. I know this has all been very fast and it is probably quite overwhelming."

"Not at all," Kitty bluffed with a little too much eagerness, "I am Katherine Pryde, Rogue's manager, and image consultant. It is very nice to meet all of you."

As the introductions continued, Remy couldn't help but keep stealing glances at the blonde. He noticed immediately how her green eyes shifted from stubborn, to nervous, and briefly to happy. She seemed so unsure of herself and managed to avoid shaking his hand after greeting both of his female companions. Why did she seem so nervous around him? He didn't get the feeling that she was star-struck. It was something bigger weighing on her mind, he figured.

"Now," Jean tried to tactfully handle their main concerns as the group settled into their places around the table, "I don't mean to sound rude, but are you sure you are ready to sign a full tour commitment? We understand that you haven't been given much time, if any, to organize your other commitments and obligations."

"Mommy, lookie!" Nathan, who had been behaving like a true angel, broke into the conversation. He held his drawing up for his mother to admire and waited for her opinion, "It is Unca Remy, daddy, me, and you mommy!"

Jean laughed softly and tried to quiet the boy down by telling him his artwork was great and that she desperately wanted another picture. She could see the two girls across the table were smiling at the boy's actions. If anyone knew about obligations and responsibilities, it was Jean. She wondered briefly if either of the girls had a family of their own to take care of. The thought made her stomach twist nervously; since it reminded her just how little they actually knew about either of them.

"Look at that," Remy ignored the need to press on with the meeting and wrapped an arm around Nathan's shoulders, "That is pretty good, Big Nate. Think Uncle Remy can have this one?"

"For two trains." The boy held up his small fingers and Remy burst out into a full laugh.

"Nathan!" Jean chastised the boy and shook her head.

"He is a good businessman." Remy grinned widely at the harried mother, "And I want that lovely picture so much, that I am willing to offer him two trains and un bonbon."

"Candy?" Nathan grinned widely, proving he had picked up a little French from his time with the singer, and held out the picture to Remy.

"Merci, Nate." Remy smiled and leaned in closer to the little boy, "Now you promise to listen ta mere, and I will make sure you get a big piece of candy later."

As the art deal began to settle down, Remy glanced back at the two women they were supposed to be talking with. The one called Kitty was already talking with Ororo about some part of the tour, but Rogue was staring at him with new warmth in her emerald eyes. He enjoyed the feeling that one glance from the blonde offered, but she cruelly pulled it away the moment she realized he was staring back.

The stillness of the room was interrupted once more by a man that brought out one more burst of energy and noise from Nathan. The boy launched forward and grabbed hold of the well-dressed man's pant leg. He babbled a million-words-a-minute and refused to leave the newcomer's side.

"Hello," The man held out a hand to both Kitty and Anna in turn, "It is nice to meet both of you. I am so sorry I was late, my last meeting ran a little late."

He took a seat at the head of the conference table and set Nathan on his lap. The black briefcase he had carried in with him, was popped open and the man began to dig out a few official looking pieces of paper. Once, he was settled with his entire collection of documents arranged neatly in front of him, he turned to the girls again.

"I am Scott Summers, and I am the lawyer who handles all of The Gambit's official paperwork and such."

Anna's ears piped up the moment Scott began to talk. She appreciated everything the girls had explained, but this was the section that most intrigued her. The fear that Bella Donna would appear any moment and demand her cousin be destroyed was still terrorizing Anna. If she got a chance to learn all of the legal obligations this tour required, then maybe she could find a way to avoid being a complete imposter. Of course, it would have been easier if the band's lead singer had stopped staring at her for at least a few minutes.

Remy noticed right away that the starlet was not impressed by his glances. In fact, he was beginning to get the distinct impression that she found him completely irritating. The idea of a woman who didn't offer to throw herself at him honestly intrigued him.

It had been a long time since he had met someone outside of the big music business that treated him like just another man on the street. Judging by the way her eyebrows dipped so low when he tried one more quick glance at her face, he figured she held him as possibly being even lower than the average human.

"You know," Remy interrupted the flow of Scott's 'sign here, initial there' speech, "I don't know if you remember, but we met once before."

Rogue's eyebrows jumped so high that Remy thought they would fly right up into the ceiling.

"Remy will take that as you don't remember, Petit." He leaned back in his chair and secretly enjoyed the way her eyes flashed and shimmered as she tried to think of a response. "We were only kids. Remy lived in the same town as you for a few years, about an hour from Baton Rouge. That ring any bells, Bella?"

"Please," Anna forced her voice to remain steady, "Call me, Rogue. And no, I can't say that I remember meeting you."

 _Rogue?_ Remy thought about the name he knew she had already begun to promote and decided he didn't love it, but that he could live with it. The girl he had met all those years ago had been stubborn as a bull, so it seemed only fitting that she would be even more stubborn as an adult.

Still, he much more preferred creating his own nicknames for the people he spent a lot of time around. And there was something about this woman that made him want to spend _a lot_ of time with her.

"Well, that seems to be everything." Jean sensed the wheels beginning to spin in Remy's head and wanted to make sure the meeting ended on a high note. "Scott will send you any other papers that need signatures. And I think we can break for today. Thank you again for coming to such a late minute meeting."

The girls thanked Jean, Ororo, and Scott in turn, but only Kitty addressed Remy. She shook his hand once more with the same child-like energy and enthusiasm that she had exhibited at the start of the meeting. It was nice to see that someone wasn't mad at him or silently wanting to slap a strip of duct tape on his mouth.

He kissed Kitty's hand and wished her a happy afternoon, before hurrying to catch Rogue at the door.

He knew she could sense his presence, from the way her shoulders rose uncomfortably and her posture straightened dramatically. She turned to look at him only once he started to speak, proving she was still not anywhere close to being his fan or even friend.

"You know," He took her hand gently and gave it a soft kiss, "Remy wasn't sure how long you have been in the city, but he knows a nice restaurant on twenty-fourth street that can cook a gumbo as good as anything from Louisiana." He kept her cold hand in his warm one and raised one eyebrow curiously, "How would you like to grab a bowl and maybe discuss some of the tour details?"

"Well, Remy," the girl plucked her hand from his grasp and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "For one, I know my way around the city. Two, I have been to that restaurant and it ain't even close to home cookin'." Anna's eyes flashed with an emotion the boy in front of her could only describe as a mix of annoyed and intriguing to him, "Oh, and I think I'll get my tour information from the ladies over there. Thanks, anyway."

As the woman turned and exited the conference room, Remy took a step back and let his normal crooked smile spread across his face. He could barely hear what Kitty was telling Rogue as she followed her down the hallway, but he got the impression that Kitty was not happy about the sarcasm that had coated her friend's speech. To Remy, it just made his little starlet all the more attractive. She wasn't going to back down and neither was he; it was on.

"Remy," Jean sighed and closed the door to the room. She looked over to her son, blissfully unaware of his uncle's bad date plans, before continuing, "How can I put this tactfully?"

"Do not sleep with that girl." Ororo broke in and stared down the taller man with strict eyes.

"That's it." Jean nodded her head; glad someone had finally said what they had all been thinking.

"Moi?" He feigned innocence and placed a hand on his chest as if their words had mortally wounded him, "Non, Remy was just planning on giving her a little helpful advice, artist to artist."

"To be safe," Ororo added in her strongest voice, "Why don't you just keep _all_ of your artistical advice to yourself?"

So it was going to be a challenge? Remy smiled a little wider and wondered just how he was going to convince Rogue to give him a chance.


	5. Stuck With You

**Disclaimer: I Do Not own the X-men or anything related to the X-men. I do not own the chapter opening song, 'Stuck With You' either. I do not own 'Star Trek'.**

 **The chapter title song is 'Stuck With You' by Sonus.**

 **Thank you so much for reading the newest chapter everyone! It is so nice of all of you to take the time to read my story. Thank you to Kal-El Fornia for a lovely review.**

* * *

The starting date for the tour seemed to come in the blink of an eye. Anna held onto her black backpack and tried to remind herself that the large men loading bags and other items into the ginormous bus' lower compartments were her roadies. Well, they weren't her roadies precisely; They were Bella Donna's roadies. Then again, they really didn't belong to her either. Everything surrounding her at the moment was for Remy LeBeau.

Thankfully, she had managed to avoid being left alone with the tall Cajun. Remy was handsome, in fact, he was drastically handsome, and she figured that was at least half of his problem. It did no good for that boy to know he was filled with good looks and that dark brooding quality that, until now, she had figured existed only in cheap romance novels. Both features only seemed to serve his annoyingly cocky pick-up lines and cheesy moves.

Mister LeBeau did not need anyone adding to already his over inflated ego.

In fact, as she caught him sending her a smug wink from the corner of her eye, she decided it was best for the entire population if she brought him down a peg or two. So she twisted her face into a scowl and gave him a biting expression. The boy actually laughed at her response and gave a tiny mock salute, before walking around the back of the second bus.

"Hey!" Kitty whispered to her friend and poked her in the ribs, "Didn't we agree to play nice with Remy?"

"The only thing I want to play with _him_ is soccer. As long as his head can be the ball."

"Yikes," Kitty shivered slightly and tried to lighten the sullen southerner, "Well, forget about him for now. Let's just focus on the task at hand. Jean and Ororo wanted to see us before we got started, anyway."

Anna sighed and tore her eyes from the multiple suitcases. She knew that this was something special, for more reasons than just the whole impersonating her cousin issue. How many people actually got to go on a cross-country tour after only two public performances? The number, she assumed as they walked across the lawn to meet the girls, was so small it was on the negative side of the scale.

They had prepared as best they could for this event. Shopping for a new wardrobe with the advance payment 'The Gambit' had provided had been the largest part of the plan. Watching Kitty swipe the card with abandon, had given Anna literal stomach cramps. How could a piece of cloth to shield you from the cold cost that much? She had never considered herself a tight fisted person, but that money could have done so many more things besides purchasing a second pair of fringe boots.

Either way, she would have been out-voted by Kitty had she raised a question to any of the spendings. Which was rather impressive since there had only been two people present on their shopping adventure.

Kitty just seemed to have a way to handle every situation. She was always able to smooth things over with people and even managed to tackle their sudden popularity with the grace and charm of an extremely poised woman. Heck, the kid could even dance decently! If it hadn't been for Anna's green eyes and Kitty's poor, or ear-splitting if you asked her, singing voice, the whole situation would have been reversed.

"Morning." Jean greeted the girls as they approached the makeshift meeting ground about a foot from the young woman's home located in a quaint suburb not too far from New York City.

It had seemed bizarre to both Anna and Kitty that the buses would be planted outside of such a normal looking house in the suburbs. But the idea had been to keep everything low key, and it worked. A few of the neighbors had stopped by to say hello and Jean's housesitter had even stopped to chat with Kitty for a little bit, but otherwise, the whole thing was normal. As normal as two giant buses and a world famous singer could get, anyway.

"Good morning to you, too." Kitty smiled happily and began the usual rounds of hellos to Ororo, Scott, and even little Nathan. She paused momentarily to stare at a new face in the crowd.

The man was tall and gruff looking. Between his teeth was an unlit cigar that he moved from side to side as he stared back at Kitty. Instead of reaching out to shake her outstretched hand, he merely nodded his head and mumbled a quick hello.

"This," Ororo jumped in to explain the presence of the stoic man as he pulled the cigar out of his mouth, "Is Logan."

"Logan, what?" Anna asked as the man turned his gaze on her.

"Just Logan, kid."

The gruff tone that came out of his mouth forced Kitty to take a small step back. Anna, on the other hand, nodded her head and accepted the name. She couldn't see any point in questioning him further when she was decked out in a wig and sparkly blue shirt she hated. If he wanted his privacy, then maybe he would give the fake Bella the same courtesy.

"Logan is our head of security. He is one of the best in the business and has been with 'The Gambit' for years." Ororo smiled sweetly at the man and only stopped when she saw Jean raise an eyebrow inquisitively, "He will be with us for the entire touring schedule. His main goal is to keep Remy safe, but he has graciously offered to also help if you should need his services."

 _He offered to help us?_ Anna thought with a grain of suspicion as the man placed the cigar back in his mouth and headed off to check on the buses.

Anna was willing to believe that someone like Remy needed the extra security around him. There were always crazy fans wanting to get close and grab their own souvenirs. _Logan_ , she judged from the muscles bulging through his tight white t-shirt, _would have been able to make easy work of any fan girls._ But personally, she had no real use for his services. No one would want the mashed potatoes when they could have the steak.

By the time the buses were loaded to the max with trunks and cases, the group had regathered in front of the main bus. The smaller bus behind the monstrosity with 'The Gambit's' logo painted on it, was covered in a nondescript black and gray paint job. It looked no different than a rich family's home on wheels. Kitty had already figured it must be the bus for the less important members of the tour; ergo the opening act and any possible roadies.

"Alright, so we have Remy and Rogue on the plain bus with Logan."

At the sound of her stage name, Anna looked away from the bus and focused all of her attention on Jean. The southern belle was uncertain she had heard the words come out of the redhead's mouth, so she meekly asked for her to repeat the statement. When the repeat came out the same as the first nightmare, Anna groaned and tried to fight the situation.

"Wouldn't it make more sense to put Remy in the big bus?"

"No." Logan spoke up for the second time and jutted his thumb to the small bus, "That thing attracts a hell of a lot less attention than the other monster. If I am babysitting you two, it will be a whole lot better in the mini."

"Excuse me?" Anna's spunk got the better of her and she shook her head, "I do not need a babysitter."

Instead of snapping back at her, Logan grew a small grin and let out a very short laugh. He seemed completely unaffected by her temper. In fact, the glint in his dark eyes almost suggested to Anna that he enjoyed her honesty.

"He isn't a babysitter." Kitty placed a hand on Anna's shoulder to try and curb any other outbursts. "He is just there to add some security."

After Anna relented to sitting with Logan and 'Mister-thinks-he-is-irresistible', the rest of the bus assignments went smoothly. Kitty was able to snag a spot with the singers and seemed completely sure that she could keep Anna from going insane. At least, she told the blonde as much when they the shuffled into the bus.

The entire place seemed larger and far more beautifully decorated than Anna's own apartment. At the front were two captain's chairs and enough controls to remind her of the old 'Star Trek' reruns she had watched with her little brother. She took a quick glance at the panel and wondered if they had a built in phaser too.

Past the control panel segment, was a comfy looking living room and kitchenette. The two full-size couches were arranged on either side of a skinny coffee table covered in magazines and a fruit basket. The large recliner in the corner was already claimed by the quiet Logan who had slipped his cigar into one of his pockets. She didn't explore past the man, but she could see a built in bunk bed set and two doors that probably led to the full bedroom and bathroom.

She took a spot on the couch and sat nervously as the others boarded the bus. What was she supposed to do with Remy on a bus for hours? At least she had Kitty, the girl looked around when she suddenly didn't spot Kitty next to her.

"Petit went to take a nap in the back."

Remy's voice was deep and sultry as ever as he answered her mental question. He took a seat on the other couch and placed a battered looking guitar next to him. Although his eyes barely moved, Anna had the definite sense that he was looking her over. There was something about him that seemed dangerous, and she couldn't decide whether it made him scarier or just more mysterious. Either way, she didn't approve of his constant attention.

"Oh, thanks." She leaned back in her chair and tried to take a few slow breaths to settle her nerves and keep her from looking back to Remy.

She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes momentarily then pictured Cody's face. Despite the fact her family doubted him, she had faith that he was going to turn around his bad job pattern and find something amazing for himself. He had always been the guy that could succeed in whatever he tried. Football, basketball, and even the English class they had first met in. Sure, he had needed some tutoring to make it through, but that had been what brought them together in the first place.

She could still remember the adorable look of determination in his eyes when he tried to desperately remember details from whatever novel they had been studying. It was the same look he had given her when he first tried to convince her he wanted to go out with her. She had been so certain that a boy as popular as Cody would have never gone out with her, but she had been wrong. They had been together for multiple years now, and she was almost certain that it was real love.

But if it was so certain and right, she wondered how she could still harbor doubts about Cody. When she had told him she would be gone for months to help Bella on a big tour, he hadn't begged, or even asked, her to stay with him. He had merely kissed her on the lips to celebrate and offered to help her pack for the trip. It seemed silly to question his motives when they supported her goal of rising in the music world. But it would have been nice to think he would have missed her or wanted the supposed love of his life to stay nearby.

When her mood began to sink, Anna opened her eyes and plucked a random magazine from the stack. Her legs stretched out under the table and true to her normal self, her foot bounced up and down nervously. She could feel something hard with each movement, but figuring it was the table leg, ignored it and continued her nervous motions.

She found nothing to world shaking in the flimsy tabloid, but the crossword puzzle near the back of the magazine looked decent enough. She pulled a mechanical pencil from the front pocket of her carry-on bag and started to fill in the easier questions.

"Hmm…"

She heard Remy make a soft noise and looked up from her puzzle momentarily. When he didn't look back to her, she ignored it and focused on the puzzle once more.

"Huh…"

The next word came a few minutes later and forced the blonde to look up once again. She stared harder at Remy who pretended to be fixing a string on his guitar. His face seemed completely bland, with no hint of a smile or smirk so she tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Well…"

"What the heck is it?" Anna set her puzzle on her lap and stared at Remy's poker face.

"What is what, Chere?" He smiled at her as innocently as he could and adjusted the battered guitar into a playing position.

"You have been mumbling things at me for the past thirty minutes. What do you want?"

"Oh," Remy finally broke his mask and gave her a tiny grin, "Well, Remy just thought if you had any questions, he could give you a better answer then celle des ordures (that trash)."

"You know a three letter word for a Japanese band?"

The boy lost his smirk for a split second but regained his poker face in only a beat. His left eyebrow dipped down slowly and he tilted his head to the side as if she had asked him a much tougher question. He gently rubbed his chin for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders to admit he had no idea what the answer was to her question.

"Remy thought you might have a question about him." He admitted as his head turned back to its normal position again.

"You?" She scoffed slightly, "Why would you think that?"

Instead of a verbal answer, he merely gestured to the magazine. Anna picked the book up and stared at the cover. In big flashy letters, the title declared a multi-page article about the latest escapades of 'The Gambit's' Remy LeBeau. How had she missed that little piece of information? She flipped through the pages again and noticed his article took up a large section of the part she had skipped.

"Sorry to disappoint, ya," She flipped the magazine back to her puzzle and leaned back with a new sense of confidence. "But I don't read tabloids. I just do the crossword puzzles."

"Fair enough, Chere." He smiled at her seeming unconcerned with the awkward discussion. "Remy be glad to know that any information you get about him will be from the source."

"Sure. If I ever have a question about you, I'll make sure to talk to you." Although the statement was spoken in her normal slightly rude tone, Remy smiled pleasantly and gave her a wink. "Now, if you don't have an answer to the puzzle questions, would you mind if I went back to my magazine?"

"No problem at all, Chere."

Anna sighed and snuggled into the couch cushions. She stared at the answers surrounding her last question and found no further assistance. As the question began to eat at her memory reserves, her foot began to move quicker. The end of her pencil received a few subconscious nibbles before she placed it delicately behind her ear. Her mother had always warned her about her various nervous tics, but old habits were hard to stop.

"Chere," Remy spoke up once more and stopped playing the tunes she hadn't even realized were floating through the air.

"Yes?"

"Remy is more than happy to play footsie with a beautiful lady, but you are starting to mess up his rhythm."

Anna's face turned a deep shade of red almost instantly. She could hardly fathom the idea that she would dare to instigate a hug let alone a childish game of footsie. The last time she had even thought about that level of flirting, she had been in the eighth grade and completely obsessed with the basketball team captain, Tyler Owens. There was no way she would dare play that silly game, or any other, with Remy.

"I don't play footsie." She stumbled to regain her composure.

"You call it something else when you continuously rub your feet together?" His smile was far too cheery to calm her.

With a little trepidation, Anna looked under the table and realized there was no coffee table leg beneath her black boot. Remy's leather shoes were leaning comfortably against her own pair as if they belonged right in that spot. She pulled her own feet away quickly and bit her lip despite the fact it probably made her look even more stupid.

"I…" Anna stammered a moment and shook her head, "Sorry, about that…"

"How about a rematch when Remy finishes his practice?"

The smirk on his face brought her back to annoyance and she rolled her eyes, "In your dreams, Swamp Rat."

"It is a date, Chere."

In the corner of the room, Logan let himself openly smirk as he watched the two interact. He knew the real reason he had been placed on this particular bus. He had figured it out easily before Ororo had even explained her dual purpose. She had demanded practically that he keep the red-eyed hound dog on a leash. Well, she hadn't used those exact words, but he could read through almost any lines.

At first glance, he had assumed the blonde would need more protection than even Remy. She was skinny and appeared to have no real muscle tone that he could see through her light jacket and tight jeans. But what she lacked in outward strength, she more than made up for in spunk. It had been a long time since even a full grown man had dared to snap at him, but this little girl had no fear.

That attitude would serve her well as far as he was concerned. Remy had never been the type to give up when he set his sights on something and having a target that was willing to put him in his place was a nice change of pace. He enjoyed the idea of watching the Cajun have to struggle to impress a girl. It would give gumbo a nice dose of reality.

"It is an obi, kid."

Anna smiled brightly at Logan for a moment and filled in the last part of her puzzle. Logan spared a glance at Remy, who seemed to have forgotten his poker face for a moment. The look of surprise coating his chiseled features forced a smug smile to appear on Logan's face. _Oh yeah,_ he chuckled internally, _This is gonna be fun_.


	6. Maybe Baby

**Disclaimer: I do not own The X-men or anything associated with The X-men. I do not own the title chapter song, 'Maybe Baby' by Buddy Holly either.**

 **Thanks for reading the newest chapter everyone! Thanks for reading the last one too! I hope you are enjoying the story and will enjoy the newest chapter:**

* * *

The first stop on the tour of wonder was Grand Rapids, Michigan. Anna had never visited the area before, but she was pleasantly surprised to find the September temperature was surprisingly warm as they exited the bus. They had driven over twelve hours straight to reach the large hotel near the outskirts of town, and Anna was ready to flop onto a warm bed and pass out.

They had all taken turns, minus Logan who seemed to never sleep, resting and playing with various trinkets on the long ride. Remy had even offered to let the girls take the big room, but the built in bunk beds had been more than roomy enough for her average height. Kitty, whose eyes had secretly yearned to take the large bedroom, had even agreed eventually to stay with Anna.

Whether it was out of loyalty to her friend or just the fact she was afraid Anna would kill Remy in his sleep, she didn't know. Either way, it came about, Anna was thankful for Kitty's agreement. It had been nice to talk with someone other than Remy for a change and since neither had been able to settle their nerves, they had gotten in quite a few conversations.

"Mommy," Nathan, who had been the only one of their tour group to get any real sleep on the bus ride, grabbed his mom's pant leg and let out a small whimper of protest when she mentioned something about everyone taking a nap before practice. "No sleeping."

"Some of us might need a break, Honey." Jean pet the boy's hair and turned to the adults of the group, "You are free to hang out in the hotel or go out if you wish, of course. But we have to be at the auditorium by three to start rehearsals for tomorrow's show."

Anna glanced at her cell phone and noted that it was only five in the morning. She figured sleep would be a good idea, and gratefully took her card key from Jean. The woman seemed upset that Anna and Kitty were going to have to share a room due to a mistake by the hotel, but Anna tried to explain that it was fine with the two of them. The tour had just started and she was already overwhelmed by the amount of money that was being flung around. Hotel rooms for two people were expensive, but housing a crew, singers, and entourage was too much to count.

Kitty took her key and joined Anna in grabbing their smaller rolling suitcases from the cargo area before they headed off to the lobby. She remained silent as they walked to the elevator, but her silence was broken the second the elevator door slid shut.

"So, Remy is on our floor?"

"I guess." Anna yawned already feeling her energy drop and her eyes droop.

"He seems nice." Kitty ventured and shook her head disapprovingly as Anna's eyes rolled in their sockets. "Have you given him a real chance?"

"Kitty, I know guys like him. They could care less what I do."

Kitty followed her into their room and watched her friend flop down on the bed closest to the door. She fought the urge to demand Anna get up and hang her outfit up first since it was bound to start a fight and distract from her current line of questions. Instead, she busied herself with changing out of her own clothes and slipping on a pair of pajamas.

Unlike Anna, Kitty was growing somewhat attached to Remy, and even Logan. While Anna had slept in the bottom bunk, she had spent a great deal of time talking to the young man. He had told her stories of his past in Louisiana and had even listened attentively to her stories. Any guy who could honestly show interest in stories about a town as boring as her hometown couldn't be all that bad. Even Logan had been nice enough to offer her the last cup of coffee. It wasn't much, but it seemed like a big step for the bodyguard.

The only thing that Kitty had noticed was strange, was the way Remy subtly glanced towards the bedrooms every so often. He was always present mentally for her stories, but it was as if he was waiting for something to happen. And since the only one in the back of the bus was Anna, Kitty was almost certain that the boy was hoping her friend would make a reappearance.

"You know, I almost wonder if he likes you. It's kinda funny, Anna. Like a playground love affair." She sat on her bed and took her hair out of its ponytailed style, "You know, one of those I kick dirt at you because I like you kind of romances?"

When there was no answer, Kitty stopped fiddling with her hair and stared at her friend. Anna's eyes were closed and a soft breath was escaping out of her slightly agape mouth. Kitty sighed and tugged her friend's boots off, before throwing the other side of the comforter over her. As Kitty snuggled into her own bed, she figured it might be best to just wait and see what the Cajun's next move was going to be. She'd hate to spoil the start of something new.

The blaring alarm that Kitty had set for noon, went off far too early for Anna's taste. Judging from the way Kitty smacked at the clock, she was pretty sure it had been too early for the younger brunette too. She forced herself to sit up on the bed and pull off the itchy wig. This was the longest time she had worn the thing and it was starting to drive her insane.

"Don't hurt it," Kitty mumbled as she tried to find the energy to move from her cozy bed. "We only have three of them."

"Do you have any idea how horrible this thing feels?" Anna grumbled and scratched her head with all of her might. "It is like wearing a fire ant colony!"

"It can't be that bad." Kitty sighed and finally exited the safety of her bed to save the blonde wig currently laying on the hotel floor.

She examined the inside of the hairpiece and found that it looked just like the other two wigs packed safely away in two different suitcases. The last thing they could afford was misplacing or destroying the Bella wig. It was a staple to the whole charade and deserved a lot more care.

"Look," Kitty pulled Anna's hands away from her scalp, "I can try to find a solution in the drug store next door. Why don't you go get a shower and get changed?"

"Does the cure involve setting fire to the wig?"

"Get!" Kitty growled and pointed a stern finger to the bathroom.

It hadn't taken Kitty too long to make it to the drugstore and back. She had selected a variety of calming lotions and shampoos that might offer some relief to the itchiness associated with wearing a wig for so long. She had even managed to hear about a famous and low-cost restaurant only a short distance from the hotel. The cashier hadn't known the exact directions, but Kitty had been able to find a helpful visitor in the hallway of their hotel floor.

"Hey, I'm back." She hollered through the cracked bathroom door. "I am getting directions so I'll be like right back. Kay?"

There was no response so she covered her eyes and opened the door a crack wider, "Did you hear me? I left the stuff on the desk out here."

"Sure," Anna mumbled in reply from the steamy shower. She hadn't heard much of what Kitty had to say, but she figured nothing too serious was going on outside of her amazing shower.

Kitty wasted no time in grabbing a pad of paper and pen from the desk. She figured she would only be gone for a moment, so she left her purse on the bed and merely flipped the door guard to keep the door slightly propped open.

She never thought twice when her helpful visitor took her around the corner to point out a few street signs from the wide decorative window.

Remy had slept plenty on the bus and was unable to find anything exciting in his hotel room. He had been to enough hotels and motels to know what they offered in their mini bars and television channel lineups without even looking. It was as if he had picked up a useless superpower after touring for so many years.

Logan and Ororo had always tried to get the most inconspicuous places in order to avoid being bombarded by fans. Of course, obscurity had its downfalls. The hotels were great in quality, but they offered few of the privileges the larger and flashier ones were overflowing with. It was the complete lack of something exciting that set his feet in motion towards a specific room.

By the time he reached Anna and Kitty's door, his ever-present shadow had disappeared. He was surprised that he didn't sense Logan behind him, but he didn't honestly think it was too big of a deal. The big lug knew his way around better than any of them after one sniff of the air, so he was in no danger of becoming lost in a random city.

"Bella," He knocked on the door and was honestly surprised to see it had been left open. "Hello?"

Feeling slightly unsure about the open door, he gingerly stepped inside the room. He fixed the lock so the door would shut smoothly once again and slowly started his mini investigation. One of the beds was re-made while the other one looked as if a tornado had recently run over it. The sound of the shower turning off caught his ear and he stepped a few inches closer to the bathroom door. What kind of person left their front door open then jumped into the shower?

"Anyon-" He paused in mid-sentence as he heard her voice drift sweetly through the door.

The tune was one he hadn't heard before, but he enjoyed it all the same. It sounded like a completely different girl than Bella singing. The voice was so free and happy that Remy doubted there was any way it could have been produced by the stubborn blonde. He figured it had to have been Kitty in the shower and started to edge back towards the door to save both of them from any embarrassing moments.

The moment his hand grasped the doorknob, he heard it…

"What in the hell are you doing in here?!"

He spun on his heels and tried to avoid staring at the towel-clad girl. She tried her hardest to cover herself with the small hotel towel, but it left a great deal of her long, toned legs and impressive cleavage exposed. To avoid incurring anymore of her wrath than he already had, he focused his eyes on her face. She had another white towel wrapped around her hair and the tail end continued to try and tickle her left eyebrow.

"This isn't what it looks like, Chere." Remy kept his voice firm and tried his best to fight the smirk threatening to burst onto his face as Anna's eyes began to practically glow with rage.

"Remy just came to check on you and the door was broken."

"So you let yourself in to spy on us?" She furrowed her brows further forcing her eyes to turn into small bitter emeralds.

"Non, Remy not spying on anybody." He placed a hand to his heart and gave her his most sincere look, "Just figured it be dangerous for deux belles dames such as yourselves to leave their door open in a big city."

"You really expect me to believe that you were just trying to play the concerned citizen, Remy? You honestly believe that anything could happen in a fancy place like this?"

The yell caught both of them off guard and forced Anna's eyes to pop open in shock. She knew the sound of that particular voice and was determined to find out what was going on. Without a thought to her attire, or lack thereof, she shot forward and pushed Remy to the side.

The boy watched in surprise as Anna manhandled the door with her one free hand, then shot out towards the sound of the scream. He followed her unsure what they were running into, but determined not to leave the girl alone. Who knew what she was about to jump into?

As they rounded the corner, they spotted Kitty first. She was rubbing her wrist and staring at the floor. The singers followed her line of sight and saw a twenty-something-year-old man trying to crab crawl away from Kitty. The entire scene looked a little strange to Remy until he spotted Logan standing about a foot away from Kitty.

"Kitty!" Anna ignored the audience and charged over to her friend, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks to Logan. He knocked him flat on his butt the moment he tried to grab my arm." She smiled sweetly at the bodyguard who was busy giving the scared young man on the floor a dirty look.

"Um," She stepped back as the shock of the moment dropped and she began to notice just what Anna was wearing, or more importantly, what she wasn't wearing. "What are you doing in a towel in the hallway?"

With her own adrenaline gone, Anna clutched at her small towel and let out a few choice curse words. She offered one quick glare to Remy as if she blamed him for her decision to race out with no clothes, before racing down the hall to her room. The boy just shrugged his shoulders and slowly shook his head. There was no way she could blame him for running through the hallways with almost nothing on.

Although none of them moved from their spots, they could hear Anna let out another frustrated shout as she attempted to break open the locked door.

"I got this." Remy sighed and walked down the hallway with Kitty on his heels.

"What do you want?" Anna grumbled as she kicked the base of the door with all her strength.

"To help a damsel in distress?" Remy joked gently and pulled her away from the door.

He kneeled in front of the door and began to fiddle with the handle and lock. The audience behind him watched quietly, though he could hear Anna drop a few sighs every so often. She seemed to honestly doubt his skill at opening locked objects and it didn't surprise him in the slightest. Who would have believed that a world famous singer had a history quite like his? It might not have gotten him any awards for most outstanding man, but it definitely came in handy in a pinch.

"There." He pulled away the credit card he had used in his process and propped open the door, "You are free to go in and get dressed, Chere."

Anna had to admit that she was shocked he had come through. When Remy had kneeled in front of the door, she had chalked it up to all the times men had pretended to know things just to impress her. He didn't look like someone who would have ever had to pick a lock, let alone break into any place. But there he was, standing tall as ever with a proud smile coating his stubbled face.

"Uh, thanks, Remy." She relented a little and started to walk into the room. "I appreciate it."

"You know," He spoke up again and couldn't help but smirk when Anna's back straightened instantly, "Seeing as how Logan and Remy saved the day, maybe the lovely damsels would grace us with their company for lunch?"

"You saved the day?" Anna gasped and turned to face Remy. "If you hadn't of snuck into my ro-"

"We'd love too," Kitty answered quickly before shoving Anna back into the room and closing the door tightly.

As the boys walked away from the room, Remy could hear the sound of an argument brewing behind the girls' door. He hadn't expected them to take him up on his offer, but he was damn glad that they had. It was nice to spend time with the cheerful Kitty and even nicer to get a moment with the mysterious Bella Donna. There was something about her that just seemed to drag him towards her and he had no idea what that quality was. But he was determined to figure it out.

"I'd wipe that smug look off your face," Logan grumbled as they reached Remy's room. "I got twenty bucks that she kills you before Texas."

"Hmm," The boy mused a moment then added, "Put Remy down for kissed the girl by Texas."

"Your funeral, bub." Logan snorted before disappearing into his own room.


	7. Don't Stop The Music

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men or anything relating to the X-men. I also do not own the chapter title song, 'Don't Stop The Music' by Rihanna.**

 **Thank you for taking the time to look at the newest chapter of the story! I appreciate you guys and gals taking time out of your busy lives to read this story and the new chapter. Thanks again!**

* * *

Kitty deserved a national award for bridging gaps and stopping plots to destroy certain pop-stars. At least, that was the thought roaming around Anna's head as she perused the one-page menu. There were only three choices for lunch and she had already read their names and descriptions at least ten times. She knew far more about burgers, salads, and something called a 'Rapid Wrap' then anyone ever should.

Beside her sat the ever-happy Kitty, who had already decided to bravely face the most creative entry on the list. She slowly sipped her Coke and seemed unsure if she should press her chances any further by engaging Anna in conversation. After the fake blonde had finally admitted defeat and slapped on her wig, Kitty had backed off and left her to sit in her own stupor.

On the other side of the table, sat Logan and a somewhat disguised Remy. He had pulled on his usual sunglasses and added a worn baseball cap to the mixture. When Anna had first spotted him in the hotel lobby, she hadn't expected the disguise would fool anyone. But a few teenagers had walked past their outside table and didn't offer them a single look. Without his smoldering eyes flashing in their faces, they probably wouldn't have been able to make the connection.

She growled at herself internally for even thinking about Remy LeBeau as more than an annoying pop-star. At least he hadn't noticed her small glances to his face when people walked by them. If he had spotted those simple expressions, she was almost certain he would have blown it way out of proportion. There wasn't any emotion behind it. It was just her curious side wondering if a stereotypical star identity-hiding outfit could work.

"How about a picture?" Remy teased as Anna blinked back to the present situation.

"What?"

"You been staring at Remy like he was the menu, Chere." The boy pulled his shades down and gave her a wink, "Just thought a picture might last you longer."

Anna turned her eyes back to the menu and forced herself to not respond to his jokes. He was just trying to get under her skin like he had on the bus ride. She was not going to let Remy LeBeau break her.

By the time the food had been ordered and eaten, the clock was getting notoriously close to rehearsal time. Logan had already gone to get them a cab, while Kitty offered to pay the bill for lunch. Remy had stood in her way until the two reached a compromise that somehow involved the ice cream store next door.

Anna stood outside the store and watched the leaves on a large tree in the park across the street, blow gracefully in the breeze. She was so captivated by the deep reds and golds of the leaves that she didn't notice Remy join her until he leaned against the wall a little too closely to her side. Still deeply involved in her stubborn stage, Anna refused to move an inch.

"Where is Kitty?" She asked as Remy licked his chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cone.

"Petit is still trying to figure out what flavor to surprise monsieur Logan with."

Anna nodded her head and scooted a leaf around the sidewalk with the toe of her boot, "I get why he gets one, for punching the perv at the hotel and all, but why did she buy you one?"

"Petit said it was for unlocking doors and buying lunch." He took one slower lick before holding it near her face, "You surely are missing out, Chere. Remy willing to share you know; for a small price."

"Keep your price and ice cream to yourself, Swamp Rat," She pushed his hand away and watched him roll his eyes at the quip. "Besides, you will ruin your voice if you eat that much dairy."

Remy bit into the sugar cone and let out a soft sigh. He had expected the new rock version of Bella Donna to be a bit wilder. Now she was sounding just like Jean on a bad day.

"Besides," Anna mumbled quietly and caught his attention, "How could anyone pick ice cream that wasn't chocolate? If I am going to ruin my voice for a day, it better be a scoop of chocolate ice cream."

Remy gave an honest laugh and nudged her with his elbow, "So the diva is as bad as the rest of us, eh?"

"Not as bad as you, Swampie." She shot back and fought the small hint of a grin trying to break loose on her face.

Upon arriving at the event center their group had been split almost immediately. Remy had been rushed off to warm-ups with Logan, who was mysteriously still holding an untouched ice cream cone, tagging along for security. Anna and Kitty were pushed onto the stage to practice lighting cues and complete a tech run through.

The last time Anna had been on a stage with little tape markers on the floor, she had been in eighth grade and auditioning for the school musical. They had tried to get her to move around the stage after hearing her singing audition, but she had frozen like a statue. Actually, she had only frozen for ten minutes before racing off the stage and vomiting into a shop bucket. Even her teacher had told her she would best serve her school in the darkness of the backstage. What would he have thought of her now?

After running through three songs, Jean yelled out that she could take a quick water break before the next step. Anna figured 'the next step' involved something along the lines of costume dress rehearsal or sound adjustments. But the way Jean, Ororo, and the other workers she didn't know gathered in a large huddle made her nervous. What could they possibly discuss for that long after hearing only three songs?

She pushed the thought out of her mind and wandered over to the ice chest behind the left curtain. It took one quick gulp to down about half of the water bottle, but it did little to ease the unspoken tension of the room. She hadn't forgotten any of the lyrics and she had even managed to keep her voice a little bit lower than her real level to sound as close to Bella as possible.

What was she missing?

"That was good."

The voice startled her and caused the water bottle to fly into the air. Remy, the source of her surprise, caught the plastic container in one hand and gave it back to the girl. He nodded his head curtly when she thanked him for returning it, but let his eyes look her up and down before speaking again.

"But you definitely need a new outfit." He stared at her jeans and motioned at the starchy quality of the pants, "This will never work in those."

Anna merely stared at him as if he was talking in Latin. She couldn't begin to fathom why Remy would care what she wore. Well, a few reasons had popped into her head, but she doubted he would dare to try anything sleazy during the middle of rehearsal. Even he had to have some professionalism.

"Excuse me?" She stammered out finally.

"Your act is good, but you can't just stand there like a rock. You need to move a little, Chere."

She shook her head and tried her hardest to dissuade him from the ludicrous idea that she should try dancing. Wasn't it enough that she had managed to get on stage and not throw up? Besides, there were singers who merely sat still on stools for their whole performance. She could do that! All she needed was a stool and they were good to go.

"No one wants me to dance." She finally told him in a semi-firm voice. "Trust me, they will be fine with just a few sways left and right."

"Rogue," Ororo appeared suddenly, forcing Anna to drop her water once more. She bent down to clean up the mess, but the graceful woman gently pulled her back to a standing position, "We were talking about your rehearsal and I think you need to try and move a little on stage. You don't have as much stage presence hiding behind one microphone."

Remy hid his grin well as he watched his little starlet nod her head gravely. An outsider would have probably assumed Ororo was telling the poor girl some very bad news instead of a simple critique. So she had to dance a little? Remy was almost certain that a woman as talented as Rogue could learn basic steps in no time. If she had the right teacher, that is.

"So, do you think you can manage trying something new? I know it is last minute, but if this doesn't work we will just have to see if we can get a reputable choreographer on extremely short notice."

"Oh sure," Anna mumbled out the words weakly as the little voice inside her head began to scream in terror. She wouldn't wish trying to teach her to dance on any person. If she could just manage to move a little, then they would surely leave her alone. "I can do that."

"Bella," Remy's voice reached her ears as the happy Ororo left the stage, "You can't just fake dancing in front of a sold out crowd. Do you know how to do any basic steps?"

Maybe it was the use of the name Bella, who actually could dance impressively well and was probably sunning herself on a millionaire's yacht right at that moment, or maybe it was her own panic, but either way Anna made her biggest mistake yet, "Look, I can do this. In fact, if this doesn't go well I will personally sign up for dance lessons. Even if they were lessons from a guy like you."

"Really?" He raised a quizzical eyebrow and stuck out his hand to seal the deal before Anna's rational side took control of her mouth, "So if you flop I get a dance partner?"

"Sure, Swampie." By this point, her internal self was having trouble even stringing words into complete sentences, let alone dealing with the possible outcomes of this stupid agreement. "But don't hold your breath."

By the time Anna was putting on the last part of her wardrobe, she had begun to realize just how bad of a disaster she had gotten herself into. A huge arena was waiting to see the girl who was only memorable because she had ripped her dress on stage. She knew they were most likely here to see Remy perform, but that didn't take away much anxiety. If anything, she felt worse knowing that they were hoping she would get off the stage quickly and let Remy jump out.

"Opening acts are just glorified bathroom breaks before the main show, right?"

Kitty paused her last minute checklist process to look over at Anna. She realized the girl was still trying to clasp the necklace she had been working on for the past ten minutes. The lack of concentration and general day-dreaminess from the normally serious Anna really bothered Kitty. Of course, it didn't seem to matter whether Kitty was in the room or not for this particular question. Even before she could answer, Anna was already mumbling something to herself about how many concerts she had come late to in her lifetime.

Unlike her best friend, Kitty had been completely ecstatic to start their first show on the road. She hadn't seen anything go too wrong during the rehearsal, so she had no idea what could be tormenting Anna. The girl had been slightly psychotic ever since her song run through. But even Remy had left her alone to get ready for his own part of the show, so Anna couldn't have been bothered by his attempts at flattery.

"Uh, Anna?" Kitty stepped closer to the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Is there something going on?"

"What?" Anna's head popped up and she stared at Kitty with fearful green eyes, "No. I mean, not really… I was just thinking about my dance."

"Your what now?" Kitty took a step back and tried to fathom the idea of Anna Marie dancing.

"They said I had to move," Anna jumped up from her seat and tried to take a few graceful steps, but it was a failure due to a mixture of raw nerves and a pair of far too high heels.

Kitty took a slow breath and tried to remain positive. She would have preferred Anna had told her this crucial tidbit of information earlier, but there was no use in crying about it now. They had only a few minutes before Anna was going to be whisked away to sing in front of a sold-out crowd. The only thing Kitty could think to do was pray and try to give the quickest dance class in history.

Five minutes after Kitty tried to mercifully explain a few basic steps, the call came for Anna to head out to the wings. Despite the urge to fight off the stage hands and continue their class until the very last second, Kitty merely hugged Anna tightly and let her go towards the door. She muttered a supportive expression that Anna could only slightly see through. Kitty doubted that this would end well, but she loved her friend enough to do everything in her power to help.

When the lights hit their opening marks, Anna found herself struggling to avoid walking out to her own. The stagehands pushed her as forcefully as they could without injuring the girl, and she eventually stumbled far enough forward to be noticed by the spotlight. The crowds cheered excitedly as she walked further out and took her spot at center stage.

"Hello, Grand Rapids!" She stalled just like her first time on stage and gave the crowd an awkward wave. "Are you excited?"

The resulting roar forced Anna to take a step back from the audience. She hadn't expected them to be so charged up already but was somewhat grateful that their excitement wouldn't be solely dependent on her performance. At least this gave her a fighting chance.

In order to keep the show moving at a decent rate, the band began to play the chords of her first song. She had selected a new one that even Bella had not heard to start things off. The big wigs had requested her dress rip song at least once in the lineup, but she wasn't about to start with the only hit she had in her line-up. _Why give them cake before dinner?_ She figured as the words of her first slow ballad drifted through the audience.

Although she couldn't see their faces, Anna knew Jean and Ororo were somewhere in the auditorium. They were watching her closely and she could only hope that she wasn't disappointing them. She had tried a little more involved sway through the first song and almost lost her footing at least twice. The second song was a lot quicker and would offer no way to avoid letting out a full dance move.

As the audience finished their clapping and hollering, Anna took a deep breath and steadied her feet. She tried to remind herself that she could do this, but even her own mind doubted the probability that she would avoid breaking a leg or falling off stage. As long as she kept her eyes off of the audience's faces then she would be okay.

"You thought I'd take the hint…"

Her voice faltered as she took a step forward and stomped her right foot on the floor. She pulled the left one forward to meet the right one and tried a few arm motions. The song continued through her ungraceful gestures, but a few people in the multilayer seating began to make sounds that ranged from giggles to confusion.

"You doubted I could, but now you know I would…"

She stopped the arm gestures as she neared the last part of the chorus. She backed up a few feet while attempting to shake her hips and nearly fell over a wire hidden from the audience's view. After righting herself and finishing her last line, the audience clapped, but it seemed meeker and a lot less energized than the first one.

Anna had no time to sit and worry about her shrinking popularity because the band launched right into her last song. As the crowd picked up on the tune they let out a new cheer and tried to start a chant that sounded surprisingly like 'Dress Rip!'

Figuring she had little left to lose, she checked the microphone attached to her left ear then launched into a loud start. With as much confidence as the blonde could muster, she began to stomp forward and even threw in a somewhat solid attempt at a hair flip. Kitty's wig work had anchored the beast on so tightly that Anna wasn't certain if even a power tool could remove the wig.

Whether the audience was impressed or scared was hard for the singer to tell. All she knew was that she had to keep moving across the stage and up and down. When she neared the spots closest to the stage, only a few people attempted to reach out and touch her feet or reach out to grab her hand. The gesture surprised Anna and forced her to shuffle backward.

It was only three steps back before she felt the crack. Without warning, her left heel cracked and sent her stumbling extremely ungracefully to the back part of the stage. She closed her eyes and didn't have time to realize or appreciate the fact her accident had happened during a small break in the lyrics.

Before the obvious laughter and humiliation could invade her senses, a warm pair of arms wrapped around her torso and pulled her up to a standing position. The arms encircled her waist and seemed to force the audience into a louder eruption than seemed physically possible. She opened her eyes and tilted her head to see a familiar pair of deep crimson eyes staring into her own pair of green ones.

"I think you have a song to finish, Chere." He whispered the words into her ear and then spun her out of his embrace.

The tune had been pushed back a little bit by Anna's fall, but she managed to pick up on the correct line. Remy continued to assist her by leading them through a series of basic moves that almost looked like they had been planned to go with the song. Each moment her vocals reached an edgier tone; he shifted their close movements into a more distant dance.

As she began the slow build up to the finish, he pulled her body close to his and started to sway in a much more determined manner than Anna's previous attempts. She fought the distraction of being so close to Remy and waited until just the right moment, to push his chest back and jump into her rock finish.

Remy, for his part, pretended the hit had been hard enough to knock him back. He reached out his arm and caught Anna's hand before she could stumble on her broken shoe. As far as the audience was concerned, Remy's hand grab and drop to one knee was just part of the show.

As Anna's last note ended and the two artists froze on stage, the crowd wasted no time in letting out their own mix of shrieks and applause. It was hard to hear anything over the pounding of her own heart, but Anna was almost certain she heard a few calls of, 'You go girl!' from either the audience or someone backstage.

"So," Remy whispered into only her ear, despite the fact she could see a mic was actually attached to his left ear, "Dance class begins tomorrow?"

"You may have won this round, Cajun." She whispered as softly as she could and only took a small bow when he sneakily placed a hand on her lower back.

Remy genuinely laughed and slowly pulled his attention away from her when the announcers began to stir again. His little stunt had completely messed up the show's flow and the stagehands in the wings looked pretty upset. They were used to dealing with some oddness when it came to Remy. The Gambit band had a bit of a reputation, but those who managed to click with the oddness always had a pretty good time.

Anna edged off the stage as the music began to change to Remy's opening song. When she reached the safety of the backstage, she immediately ripped off the heels and tried to slink into a dark space where no one would be able to find her and ask if she had just suffered a spasm on stage.

"Thanks, Remy." She whispered from her spot while watching the rest of his concert from a backstage video monitor. Maybe, just maybe, he wasn't such a bad guy after all.


	8. The Middle

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own X-men Or Anything Related To X-men. I Do Not Own The Chapter Title Song 'The Middle' By Jimmy Eat World Either.**

 **The chapter title song is 'The Middle' by Jimmy Eat World.**

 **Thanks for reading the newest chapter everyone! Big thanks to Jehilew for the wonderful response. You are very kind to write such nice things. I hope you guys and gals enjoy the story and like this new chapter:**

* * *

As the next morning started for Kitty and Anna, the girls had decided on a semi-mutual agreement. After the craziness of their first concert, it had seemed like a good idea to fly under the radar as best they could. Anna had taken the idea to a more serious level, and completely skipped venturing out for any type of food. She had been too nervous to imagine eating anything as it was, so Kitty's offer to bring her back a sandwich from the hotel's mini-restaurant had been declined quickly.

There were far more important things to do than try to stomach a simple croissant or slice of bacon. Anna had to figure out some way to avoid the manager and lead singer's personal assistant through a long bus ride and an even longer rest of the tour. At least she didn't have to ride the same bus as Jean and Ororo. If she could sneak past the women and then crawl into the back bedroom of the bus then they would be none the wiser.

"Then again," She flopped onto the bed and tried to pretend her wig was not driving her forehead insane with its loose strands of hair, "If they are going to fire me, it would be nice for them to do it in a state this close to New York."

Anna pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked through the list of tour dates. She was pretty certain the next stop was Chicago, Illinois, but her current state of mind made recall nearly impossible. Every time she tried to focus on the task at hand, her mind wandered back to Remy and the fact he had saved her from completely destroying the last bit of her pride. It surprised her to realize that being held by Remy was higher on her list of acceptable events than collapsing on stage.

"Rogue," The voice was muffled by the door, but the knock that accompanied it was strong enough to wake her from her mental fog.

She pulled herself together as best she could and slowly edged towards the door. The person on the other side, who sounded somewhat like Ororo, called out once more. Anna looked through the peephole and inwardly groaned when her assumption was proven correct. Outside stood a very professionally dressed Ororo and a rather casual Remy, decorated with his infamous smirk.

"One moment," Anna unhooked the security latch and slowly opened the door. Every move she made seemed to be at a turtle's pace, which she chalked up to her mind trying to delay a very ugly scene.

"Good morning." The regal woman greeted the nervous blonde and walked into the room with more grace than Anna could even picture was possible. Had their morning chat been on better terms, Anna was almost certain she would have asked if the manager had been a dancer in her past life. Ororo's movements were so poised and smooth, that the girl almost missed responding to woman's question about taking a seat.

"Oh, sure," Anna rushed to move some of her junk out of the two chairs in the corner of the room. "Please, have a seat."

Ororo sat in the chair with perfect posture and Anna felt her stomach drop in fear of what was coming next. No one started a discussion with perfect posture and ended with good news. Good news was almost entirely associated with slouching and fast hand movements. Only tragic news and other unpleasant scenarios started with posture that straight.

Remy sat in the other free chair and seemed to be feeling nothing but his normal confident bravado. He leaned back in the tan colored chair and propped one leg over the other as if they had gathered to watch a television show or shoot the breeze. The difference between their postures rattled Anna's confidence even worse. Was Remy happy because there was good news and Ororo was just a normally strict person? Or did he get some kind of amusement from watching Ororo fire the no-talent warm up act?

She shook her head to try and clear all of the confusing ideas roaming around her mind. Once the fog was cleared a little more, she forced herself to look at something besides Ororo's face. Whatever emotion was covering the woman's face was going to be a mystery to Anna and, at the moment, she was okay with that. Instead, she turned her attention to the rolled up gray paper that was clutched in Remy's left hand. She figured it was some type of newspaper, but her inspection was cut short when Ororo began to talk again.

"So," She crossed her legs at the ankle and gave a kind smile to Anna, "I guess we can all agree that last night did not go as anyone expected."

"Yeah…" Anna scratched the back of her neck sheepishly and tried to gain a few points by offering an apology, "I am so sorry about the dance issues. Er, well…" She fought back a blush of embarrassment as the image of her jumping around the stage came back to her like a bad rerun, "I am sorry about the _attempt_ at dancing issues."

"It was interesting," Ororo picked her words carefully to try and save Rogue's feelings.

"And popular," Remy added with a wink directed at his starlet.

The addition caught her by surprise and forced Anna to stare at the boy's face. She was about to ask if he had misspoken or was trying to make some joke, but he cut her off. Instead of answering her inquisitive stare with words, he merely handed her the copy of newspaper he had brought into the room.

Anna looked at the section Remy had dog-eared and was almost physically knocked over when the picture of her and Remy stuck together in their last minute dance routine, greeted her eyes. The heading claimed something about the bad boy of music entrancing women throughout Grand Rapids and the rest of the state by dancing with his newest opening act.

"They liked that whole mess?" Anna mumbled and handed the paper back to Remy.

"Mess? You call a headline-grabbing dance like that a mess?"

The group turned their heads back to the door when Kitty busted into the conversation. In her hands, she was attempting to balance a newspaper, two cups of to-go coffee, and a meal of something so greasy that it had already left dark spots on the sides of the paper bag. As Remy jumped up to take part of the load from Kitty, the skinny brunette rushed over to the women and tried to save what she figured was a bad situation.

"It was rough," Kitty managed to make the understatement with a straight face, "But I can work with her and she will become a great dancer in no time at all."

"Kitty," Ororo motioned to Remy's empty chair and waited until Kitty was sitting still to continue, "Take a breath. I was just saying that last night did not go as we expected, but it went a lot better then I assumed it would."

The girls shared a look and seemed unsure how to take that statement.

"I mean, that we asked a lot of you in such little time that any artist would have some technical issues."

They gradually nodded their heads in unison and seemed to be slowly letting their hopes grow.

"Now that we know what problems we have, I am very confident that we can fix them. Kitty-"

"Yes, mam?" Kitty cut off Ororo and leaned forward in her chair.

It always surprised Anna how attentive and affirmative Kitty could be. She never seemed to shy away from talking to anyone or tackling any situation. It was a quality that Anna secretly wished she could imitate, but would settle for just being thankful Kitty used it for good and not mass destruction.

"You already have so much on your plate, that I don't think it would be right to also put dance lessons on your schedule." Ororo patted Kitty's hand softly, but she also caught the quick look of fear flitter past Anna's frozen expression.

"Then are you going to find a choreographer?" Kitty doubted that anyone could be located on such short notice. Well, maybe they could find _someone_ , but not just anyone would be able to teach the stubborn Anna how to dance.

"Actually," Ororo paused in her sentence and seemed to be thinking very hard about her words.

When the idea had first appeared, she had been dead set against it. The idea was horrendous and would lead to nothing but problems for everyone involved in the tour. She had fought it as hard as she could and had attempted to make every other possible solution work out, but there was just no way around it; Remy LeBeau was going to have to teach Bella Donna a few dance steps.

Re-thinking the idea forced Ororo to shutter internally. How many times had she seen people get close to Remy and then storm off after a few dates? She had already lost one act due to his flirtatious side, and they could not afford to lose another. So when he had offered to teach Rogue a few steps, she had expressly forbidden anyone in the room even considering the idea.

Instead of giving into Remy's offer, she had handed Jean a list of names and phone numbers and spent a considerable amount of late last night and early this morning begging and pleading with any choreographer worth their weight in sand. Everyone had balked at her when she told them how soon they would be needed. It had never occurred to the manager, that the market for good choreographers was so high.

So, in last minute desperation, and with a very strict agreement with Logan that the two would never, never be left alone, she gave in to Remy's request. With Logan present, there surely couldn't be too much mischief. Logan was good, in fact, he was the best in the business, but it was still hard to reign in a man like Remy LeBeau.

And she did have to admit that the little stunt Remy pulled, despite the fact it completely threw them off course, had been so popular that people were talking about it all over the place. It was almost like they saw Bella Donna as the everywoman. Ororo had believed it would have gone the same way it always did when Remy showed any slight interest in a girl. The last real girlfriend he had was tormented by fan girls on a pretty regular basis. But there was something about this girl that they seemed to find interesting. The closest guess she could fathom was that Bella was just holding a place in their mind for themselves. As if they didn't see her face when they looked at the dance, and merely imagined themselves next to Remy.

"You see," Ororo, who never let her emotions overtake her in a business meeting, regained her steady voice and continued; "We are unable to locate a qualified choreographer at this moment. So, due to the success of their tango last night, Remy has been selected to teach a few dance steps."

Anna braved a quick glance at Remy and found the boy was openly smirking but not even looking in her direction. _Okay_ , she thought somewhat seriously, _He must have threatened Ororo to get her to agree to that._ The only reason Anna was even here was because Remy had slept with a girl and threatened to trash her mom's guest room. At least, that was what the magazines had said. But now they wanted to force Remy and the opening act to spend quality time together?

While mentally trying to tally a list of how many women Remy had lured into his life by dancing with them, she completely missed Kitty's excited expression and subsequent approval of the idea. In fact, Anna's number had already reached such ridiculous proportions that she didn't notice any of the people in the room until Remy nudged her shoulder.

"Chere?" He waved a hand in front of her eyes playfully, "Anyone, home?"

"Wha?" Anna snapped to attention and noticed how three pairs of eyes staring at her were almost as bad as the hundreds or thousands at the concert. "What was that again?"

"Our agreement," Remy knelt down beside her and smiled as charmingly as ever, "Dance class begins today."

He offered a hand to her, whether it was to shake on their agreement or to just mess with her head, she didn't know. She pushed the gesture aside and nodded her head gravely to accept their plans. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but she was not going to back out on her commitment.

When their guests had left the room to finish packing their stuff up, Kitty offered Anna a hug of happiness and a now ice cold coffee. The dark brown slime was horrible, but she downed it almost robotically. It was silly to feel weird about dancing with Remy. She was not some weak-minded girl who would fall for him the moment he winked at her. She had standards and a very committed relationship to keep her firmly planted on the ground.

The thought of Cody brightened her mood slightly. She figured he had been checking for any available news about their tour's first show. He knew she was going to be in Grand Rapids first, she had told him at least twenty times while they were packing her bags. If he had seen the article on Bella and Remy's dance then maybe he would start to be more interested in the whole thing. It stood to reason, in Anna's mind, that any boyfriend would be at least a little proud to know his girlfriend was part of such a large tour.

She checked her phone to see if she had any missed messages, but there was nothing on the screen. There was a good chance he was still busy with his job search or in the middle of an interview, but she wanted to hear his voice. As ridiculous as it sounded, she needed to remind herself about who was waiting for her back home. He had been with her for so long, that it almost felt like a part of her was missing. If she could just hear his voice than she was almost certain she would feel a little better about everything.

After sneaking out into the hallway, to avoid the poorly hidden look of disappointment that shown on Kitty's face whenever Anna spoke to Cody, she dialed the number and waited as patiently as she could for him to pick up the phone. At the first ring, she pictured him rummaging for his phone in the living room the way he always did. Why he never kept the thing in his pocket she didn't know. By the fourth ring, she could picture him starting to search in the bedroom with frantic speed for fear he was missing an important call.

When the voice mail came on and roughly said, "Leave a Message." She took a slow breath and decided that he was just busy at the moment. He'd call her back at some point to see how everything was going; or hopefully, to ask about how she, in particular, was doing…

"Hey, Cody. It's Anna." She hated leaving messages. Listening to silence on a phone was almost as bad as staring at a blank piece of paper it was just too empty and lonely. "I just wanted to tell you that the show went pretty good. Bella did great… And I miss you. Call me back when you can. Love you."

Anna hung up the phone and let out a slow sigh. It was stupid to be worried about Remy getting too close and obsessing over Cody after such a short time with no message. There were much more important things to think about, like performing well on the tour, not looking like an idiot in public, and so many other more pressing issues.

As the door to the hotel room closed once more hiding the blonde from sight, the man at the end of the hallway narrowed his brow suspiciously. He hadn't been too concerned with the girl they called Rogue, but now he was beginning to suspect that there might be a much bigger story behind the skinny blonde than anyone suspected. Something was defiantly strange about the woman who now called herself, Anna…


	9. Better When I'm Dancin'

**Disclaimer: I don't own the X-men or anything related to the X-men. I also do not own the chapter title song 'Better When I'm Dancin'' by Meghan Trainor.**

 **The chapter title song is 'Better When I'm Dancin' by Meghan Trainor.**

 **Thanks to everyone who has been reading the story. I appreciate you guys and gals taking time out of your busy lives to read this story. A big thanks to Jehilew and Reader for being so sweet. And another thank you for Coco-Chic for being so nice. It is really great of you guys to write a review and continue to read this story.**

 **Here is the newest chapter:**

* * *

The room was just large enough to barely count as a small dance studio. Along the left side wall was a row of mirrors that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Through the middle of the mirror wall, reached a long wooden rail. The whole place had a ballet studio feel to it, minus the stark white tile coating the entire floor.

Logan sat in a chair in the distant corner, unlit cigar clenched between his teeth and a copy of the latest Chicago newspaper propped in front of his face. He had no interest in Remy and Rogue's dance class, besides the slight chance that the Cajun might get a few good barbs thrown his way. It was always worth a laugh to see Remy get knocked down a peg by a pretty girl.

Remy skillfully stretched out his arms and tried to guess why Rogue was still glaring at the wall of mirrors. He took a step closer to her and tried to figure out what her gaze was focusing on with such displeasure. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to him. In fact, her reflection looked just as attractive in her fitted sports top and yoga pants as it had in her clingy blue dress from the bar. Even her bold blonde hair had been pulled into a tight braid that curved part way around her neckline, delicately showing off the gentle slope of her neck and shoulders.

 _Yeah_ , Remy thought with a small grin, _Rogue looks pretty good from here._

The bar sent shivers of pain through Anna's shins and self-esteem. She hadn't noticed anything inside the room besides that horrible piece of wood in front of the mirrors. Flashbacks to an epically failed dance segment in gym class swirled throughout her mind like an inescapable tornado. She had been able to climb the rope to the ceiling easily, she had beaten people twice her size in dodge ball, and had even flipped the football team's kicker during their short-lived Taekwondo section. Sports, in general, were pretty easy for the Southern Belle, since they used her natural abundance of grit and determination, but the idea of anything flowy like dancing was enough to send her into a panic.

"Chere?" Remy placed a hand on her shoulder and gently spun her around to look at him, "Maybe we should get started?"

"Yeah," She tried to hide the terror building in her mind, "Sure. What do I do first?"

He noted the look of fear in her green eyes and pushed aside the first teasing comment that appeared in his head. It was too easy to tease her when she was this far out of her right mind.

"How about a stretch?" He replied calmly and began to show her a few basic stretches that he was sure she must have seen or participated in during her past p.e. classes.

Anna followed his movements and found the familiar feeling of preparing for a run or some kind of physical game a bit relaxing. The idea of running from what was bound to be embarrassing was tempting the girl relentlessly; especially since she was completely limbered up now. Silently, she wondered if she would be able to out-run the rugged Cajun instructor.

"I think your shoe is tied," Remy's voice broke her out of the double knot she had been attempting to tie in order to keep her hands busy and avoid considering any more ideas of running away. "Ready to go?"

She stood up very slowly and watched as he took a very relaxed position in front of her. His feet were spread a little bit apart and his shoulders slouched only a tiny bit. Despite the small signs of relaxation, his back was pushed into an admirably straight posture, forcing her to realize just how tall he really was. The fitted t-shirt hugged his abs and formed a very acceptable picture, in her over-active imagination. She spared a quick glance up and down his frame and figured that he looked even better then she had expected he would in the athletic clothing. His arms alone filled out the t-shirt with more muscle tone than most men she knew.

"Aren't there supposed to be little footprints on the floor?"

Remy laughed softly and shook his head. He knew exactly what she was talking about, but figured they could have a lot more fun without the old-fashioned techniques. Instead of explaining any of this to the girl, he took her hand in his and swiftly pulled her close to him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and offered that same mysterious grin he had when they first met.

"Whoa, there Swamp Rat." Anna's inner spunk kicked back in and she pushed him away. "This is dance lessons for the hopeless, it ain't supposed to be gropin' lessons."

"You wound me, Chere." He laughed and enjoyed seeing that stubborn streak snap back into place. The glint of frustration in her eyes made her whole face finally look more like the sassy woman he had become so fascinated by. "Remy would never pull a sneaky move like that."

From the corner, Logan let out a gruff sounding snort and adjusted his paper.

"Let's set some ground rules, Swampie."

"Doesn't the teacher normally make the rules?" He asked in a deep voice and took a step closer, so they were almost chest-to-chest.

She furrowed her brow and ignored the warmth that seemed to flow between them. Remy LeBeau was not going to turn her into anything besides a somewhat acceptable dancer. Despite how irresistible he seemed to think his charms were, he wasn't going to get anywhere with this girl.

"Rule number one," She found it easier to focus on grounding Remy's hopes than thinking about dancing. "No flirting."

Remy ignored the new comment Logan whispered under his breath from the corner and kept his eyes on Anna. He raised one eyebrow seductively and took a step forward with his left foot. The action sent Anna's foot back instantly and prompted a scowl to etch onto her face.

"Rule two," He grinned and repeated the motion with his other foot, "You can't talk badly about yourself."

Anna repeated the step-back gesture and kept her mouth shut as he continued the movement once more. She wasn't sure what surprised her more, the fact he was willing to agree, at least she took his rule skip as an agreement or his new rule suggestion. Had she really been that vocal about her own belief that she sucked at dancing? And if she had, why did he care enough to point it out to her?

"Deal." She smirked at him and took a bold step forward.

The move forced Remy to move his own foot back and smile widely. He grabbed her hand in his and gave her a small twirl before launching into the beginning of what he figured would be the start of something fantastic.

By the time they came close to the start of the show, Anna had rehearsed her small dance step repertoire every free second of her day. She had skipped lunch, dinner, and the small window of free time between rehearsals and make-up. Remy had promised they would create a more dramatic dance flow as she got better, but Anna was already somewhat proud of her ability to sway without falling down.

The only thing she was a little nervous about was the dance for the last song. Remy had tried to recreate the natural flow they had sporadically produced at the last concert, but it felt different in rehearsals. Anna had chalked it up to the lack of surprise and random creativity, now that she was too busy thinking about each step. She mentally added 'look surprised when Remy pops out on stage' to her growing to-do list.

"It will be great," Kitty smiled at her friend and broke the girl's mental dance rehearsal. "You have been practicing all day, Anna. You are going to be awesome out there."

Anna offered a small smile in return and ran her hand over the thankfully semi-short heels she had been given to wear this time. Flats had been her favorite idea, but Kitty had nixed it with one stare and handed her the kitten heels with confidence. No one could say Kitty hung on to any past fears.

"If you say so, Kitty. I figure there is still a good chance I will fall flat on my fac-" Anna paused at the end of her sentence as the image of Remy telling her not to talk down about herself floated through the chaos of her mind and offered a small bit of relief.

Kitty raised an eyebrow but didn't ask about the slightly far-off look that crossed her friend's face. She had only caught a tiny glimpse of the practice with Remy and figured he would have been a little flirtier than what she had seen. But the pair had looked like they were so focused on their dance, moving and flowing like two old friends, that she had left the room almost as quickly as she had entered. It had almost felt like she had walked into something bigger than just a dance class, not that she would tell Rogue that.

"Show time ladies," Jean popped her head into the dressing room and offered Anna an encouraging wink. "Break a leg, Rogue."

The crowd in Chicago had either been more merciful or, the more unlikely possibility, her skills had actually kept her alive through her first two songs. As Anna let the last chorus line fade into the roar of applause, she braced herself for the last song of the night. The crowd cheered as the music began to blare and her shoulders stiffened in anticipation. _Now or never_ , she figured.

It began easy enough; she moved around the stage and only stumbled once. When she hit the first chorus line, the applause grew and she spotted Remy coming from the side of the stage. He sauntered out with as much appeal and talent as he had in their rehearsal. She knew the plan had been to smile at him with an air of enjoyment and anticipation, but she found the grin was already planted on her face without having to even think about it.

She pranced in the heels towards him and they continued their little show through planned backward and forward steps. He reached out and grabbed hold of her waist delicately. She noted he was still as warm as ever, but focused her attention on amping up her voice for the big finish.

She pushed his chest away with one hand and launched into the last note. Unlike their practice run, where Remy was scheduled to fall to one knee, he suddenly leaned forward and grabbed hold of her hand. He spun her outward, almost forcing her to miss her note than spun her back into his chest.

His arms wrapped around her like a tight sweater and he mumbled into her ear, "Rule number three, expect the unexpected."

He spun her out once more, and the audience let loose a wild cheer. When she swung back into him, her mind lost in the chaos of the moment, he suddenly dipped her backward. The move pushed her so low; that she would have easily believed her hair was dusting the stage floor.

 _Her hair!_

Anna snapped back to her senses as she felt the wig begin to loosen with each second she stayed leaned back. Despite the fact the crowd sounded like they were ready to blow the roof off of the auditorium with their hollering and applause, she forced herself back up and did another chest shove. The shove was harder than Remy had expected and sent him back an extra step.

It was probably poor stage presence, but Anna ignored the crowd before her and hurried off the stage. She kept one hand strategically placed near her head as the wig began to give a few more telltale wiggles. Abandoning her dance partner was stupid, even she knew that, but revealing herself in front of thousands of fans was amazingly higher on the scale of horrendously horrible events. So, without a second thought, she waltzed off the stage with a little bit of grace to try and cover the growing panic.

Later that night, when Kitty and Anna had made it safety back to their hotel room, the pair celebrated their triumphant night with a bottle of fancy carbonated water from the mini bar. It was a little less bubbly and exotic then the French label on the bottle claimed, but it was still refreshing and thrilling to celebrate something good happening to them. Kitty, not having to worry about her voice, had managed to sneak one of the wine coolers out of the little fridge before Anna could protest the cost. She had sipped it slowly, but only finished a little over half the bottle before falling asleep on her bed.

Anna had given up the party once Kitty fell asleep and even remembered to hang up her outfit and wig before pulling on her favorite pair of old pajamas. They were a little rough at the seams with a big hole in the left knee, but she loved them and their silly puppy dog print dearly. Besides, she figured what she wore to bed was her own business. It wasn't like they would have any visitors at this late hour.

The knock on the door was gentle and forced Anna to hop off of her comfy queen sized bed. She walked to the door quietly, hoping to reach it before the visitor knocked harder and woke Kitty up. Through the peephole, she could see Remy standing casually outside of their door. He was still dressed in his show clothes and seemed a little more disheveled then just a night of singing would do alone.

"Hey," His voice was deeper than normal, and she figured it might be a light coating of liquor causing the change, despite the fact his words weren't slurred or garbled, "You there, Chere?"

"Shouldn't you be asleep, Mister LeBeau?" She raised her voice a little to help him hear it but tried to stay quiet enough not to bother Kitty.

His grin grew as he listened to her words and spotted a playful tone. He had looked for her backstage after his last encore, but Jean informed him that the girls left before he finished his last song. She hadn't recommended he go looking for her, in fact, her exact words had been something like, 'Stay away from Rogue and bars.' Since he had only stopped by a restaurant with an impressive alcohol list and had to pass by her room, if he took the scenic route to his own floor, he figured he was good.

"And miss wishing mon Chere a goodnight?" He smiled that little-crooked grin as if he knew she was watching through the peephole. "Besides, Remy wanted to tell you that you danced like a pro tonight."

Anna bit her lip as a blush grew across her cheeks. Sure, she figured that he had a powerful beverage swimming through his bloodstream making him talk even more openly, but the compliment still felt genuine. Something in his voice made her heart swell a little and her self-confidence inch up the scale a tiny bit.

"You know," He added with a more mischievous smile, "We could always have a little celebration in Remy's room in honor of your dance."

"Goodnight Swampie," Of course, she wasn't going to tell him that his words had made her feel good about herself, "I'd rest before the hangover hits if I were you."

When Remy's laughter left the hallway and she could no longer spot him outside of her door, Anna walked back to her bed and snuggled into the warm covers. She was feeling pretty good for the first time on the tour and pulled out her phone in hopes that Cody would have finally called or texted her to end the night on an even better note.

There was no message on the screen and no sign that she had missed any calls, so she dialed his number and left him another message, "Hey Cody. Just wanted to check in and tell you that Chicago is going well. I- Well, Bella did really good tonight. I hope you are okay. Call me back when you can. Love you."

She hung up the phone and placed the device next to the lamp on her bedside table. She was disappointed that Cody had still ignored her through another town, but as she closed her eyes the image of her dance with Remy played out in her head over-and-over again. A small smile covered her face and she tried to pretend it was merely their successful dance and not Remy's kind smile that made her feel so happy.


	10. The Call

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The X-Men Or Anything Related To The X-Men. I Also Do Not Own The Chapter Title Song 'The Call' By The Backstreet Boys. I Do Not Own SkyCity Restaurant Either.**

 **The Chapter Title Song Is 'The Call' By The Backstreet Boys.**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read the newest chapter. I appreciate you guys and gals taking time out of your busy lives to read the newest chapter. Big thanks to Jehilew for her sweet review. It seems strange to update this so quickly, but I am interested in getting to a different chapter so they might be a little quicker. Thanks again for reading the story and here is the newest chapter:**

* * *

There was something about dance class that seemed to create a new relationship between Anna and Remy. The way they began to slowly let go of some of their reservations, despite the fact Remy had few, if any, from the start, and lose themselves in the dance, was a sight to see. Their list of rules had grown to a length that only the two of them understood, but it didn't seem to matter. Even Logan, who still had the duty to watch each of their dance classes, had lost track of some of the stranger rules in translation when the pair started their usual rounds of joking.

"Can't keep up, Swampie?" Anna teased her partner as he tried to catch her before she spun out of his reach.

The one thing Logan had noticed in Rogue was the slight shift in her personality. Each stop on the tour seemed to give her a new boost of self-confidence. It was as if each time she stepped on stage and didn't collapse her grin would grow an inch wider. Sure, she would quickly pull it back if anyone stared at her longer than a few seconds, but he knew it was there. He just hoped that the energy was only from the success of the show and not the closeness to one Remy LeBeau.

By the time their rehearsal ended for the day, they were both in such good moods that Anna uncharacteristically decided to take Remy up on his offer to grab a drink. He had been offering her the same opportunity since their second class, and she had always turned him down flat. But with Kitty busy going over some contract agreement with Ororo and almost eight shows under their belts, it seemed that she had finally decided it wouldn't be too terrible to hang out with Remy for a little bit.

Anna had never been to Washington state, let alone the big city of Seattle, before, and as they rode in their taxi to Remy's choice of restaurant, she continuously snapped pictures of all sorts of random things that peaked her interest. Various buildings with fancy architecture to people who seemed to have what she told him was "emotional deepness" in their faces wound up in her photo album. Inspiration was a strange creature and often found her in the oddest places, so she was not going to ignore all of the new sights surrounding her.

The boy chuckled beside her as he watched a completely random stream of images flash across her phone screen. When she stuck her tongue out at him for making fun of her tourist side, he couldn't help but grin and shake his head softly. For all of Rogue's efforts to create a cold outer shell, she sure seemed to light up at the sight of a simple building. He couldn't help but smile even wider as her eyebrows furrowed and her teeth gingerly bit her bottom lip as she tried to line up a photo when they stopped at a red light. If asked, he would have been willing to stake his life on the fact that this, creative, slightly eccentric, and beautiful side was the real Rogue.

She still didn't believe him when he had said she might be recognized in public, so she had merely thrown on a dark blue sweater, gray skirt, and dark black tights that seemed to accentuate every curve and bend of her long legs. Since the sunglasses blocked his eye movements, Remy spared a few longer glances at the way her legs curved when she leaned towards the open window and the way her tight sweater seemed to hug her in all of the right places. Yes, there was no denying that Bella Donna was hot, but what he found the most eye-catching of all was the way her green eyes sparkled every time she took in a new sight. It had been a long time since he had seen anything that unique and mesmerizing. And the idea that such a color was merely the product of some colored contacts, made the whole thing even more surprising to him.

"Wait," Anna pulled him out of his trance and pointed up at the tall structure they were quickly approaching, "Isn't that the Space Needle?"

"You said Remy could pick the place." He grinned and noticed her fight the urge to snap another picture with her camera. "Besides, you said that you had never been to Seattle before. Seems only fitting to see at least one sight, no?"

For once, Anna didn't argue with him. Instead, she seemed genuinely happy and grateful that he had picked such a scenic spot to have their drinks. The wonder must have been even greater than Remy originally thought since Rogue remained speechless through the entire elevator ride up to the SkyCity Restaurant and subsequent seating assignment. Remy enjoyed the silence to some degree; since it gave him an excuse to watch Rogue's eyes grow wide and scan the view outside of their window with childlike wonder. It was the most open he could remember her being since they had met, and he didn't want to break the spell and force her to shut herself up in that tight little cocoon again.

"How are we doing today?" The waiter broke up Remy's moment and forced Rogue to rejoin them in the world of the living.

"May we see your wine list?" He responded out of habit.

"You want to drink wine this close to show time?" Rogue broke into Remy's question and the boy smirked at her as if he wanted to try and push her out of her comfort zone.

"Alright," He relented, somewhat, and ordered himself a bourbon, before watching Rogue order basic water. Once the waiter left their table he leaned a little closer to her and raised a quizzical eyebrow, "And here Remy thought you were throwing caution to the wind, Chere."

She huffed and gave him a smirk that caused his stomach to twist a little in response, "Hanging out with you is risky enough without liquor, Cajun."

He leaned back in his chair and laughed softly at her response, "Oh, Chere, it may be reckless, but Remy make sure it be fun."

They sipped their drinks in silence for a while, pausing only long enough for Remy to order a large appetizer to share between them. Through skills that he was almost certain stumped Rogue, he managed to keep the menu with the prices away from her eyesight. This was his treat and he wasn't going to let her stubborn side ruin a nice time out.

"So," He asked after they had eaten half of the food in silence, "Jean said you have a mysterious songwriter sending you lyrics."

Anna coughed awkwardly and seemed to almost choke on her food after hearing his question. He hadn't expected a response like that from a simple question, so he merely pushed her water closer to her and waited to see if she would be okay. She thanked him after taking a large gulp of the water but didn't seem too anxious to answer his question.

"Let me guess," He added jokingly as Rogue wiped her mouth off with her napkin, "You are secretly the songwriter, but are in hiding so no one will find out your true identity?"

She didn't laugh at his joke. At least, he could tell it was not an honest laugh when she finally made a strange noise. Instead, she coughed into her hand uncomfortably and put on a rehearsed smile. It was strange behavior, to say the least, and it left him somewhat perplexed as to why she was acting like he had made some giant mistake.

"Actually," Once she composed herself, she tried to cover her odd behavior, "My cousin, writes my songs. She is new at it, but she has some skill."

"Some?" Remy decided not to press the weird behavior and focused on the info she had given him instead, "Trust me, Chere. She has professional quality."

Anna smiled at him and he noticed the honesty was back in her face and shimmery eyes. Figuring her cousin was a safe topic; he asked a few more questions about her writing skills and managed to keep the girl in a happy mood. As she started to explain something about the meaning behind the dress rip song Bella Donna was best known for, a loud chime echoed through the room. In a flash, the girl pulled out her phone from her small clutch purse and hurriedly excused herself from the table.

As Anna walked out of range of Remy's ears, she clicked her phone and held it up to her ear. She had been afraid Remy was starting to unravel her disguise, but after his questions had begun to shift focus she had felt her real identity was safe again. It wasn't until her phone rang with the familiar tone associated with Cody, that she felt like she was back to her old self.

"Hello?" She asked into the phone and received a scratchy reply that she could barely understand. "Cody?"

She had been on the road for quite some time now, and could count all of Cody's phone calls on one hand. He had sent her a few sporadic texts in response to her updates about the tour, but she couldn't deny that there was a large space growing between them. It was as if the further she traveled from New York, the less he could remember who she was. Even Kitty's mother had asked to say hi to her multiple times when she checked in on Kitty, but Anna's own boyfriend seemed like he couldn't be bothered to even text.

Far back in the self-doubting part of her mind, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty being out on the town with Remy. She hadn't done anything wrong, she reminded herself, her relationship with Remy was strictly professional and it wasn't like they were on a date. Cody had always been the type to go out with his co-workers after a hard day at the garage for drinks. Had she gotten upset that some of the co-workers were named Jill or Susan instead of Bob or Jake? No, Anna had trusted Cody to make the right choice and she wanted to believe that he thought she would be just as responsible.

But if it was all so cut and dry, why did she feel weird standing there talking to Cody with Remy only a few tables away? Maybe it was the fact that he didn't know she was playing Bella and having to spend so much time with a rugged Cajun? No matter how much Kitty would detest the idea, it was starting to feel like she had no real option but to tell Cody everything that was going on with the fake Bella. He deserved to know the truth. And maybe if he knew the whole story, it would somehow bring them closer? She knew it was a stretch, but the idea of somehow going back to the excitement of their first year of dating sounded a lot nicer than just stumbling along in confusion about what she meant to him or what he meant to her now.

"Annie?" Cody's voice was still scratchy, but she could make out the words, "You still there, Annie?"

She tried to get his attention without everyone in the restaurant staring at her, but it was hard to keep her voice at a normal level. A few of the patrons began to turn their heads in her direction, and she shuffled awkwardly into the ladies' room where she could speak louder and not worry about the stares.

"Cody, I can't hear you. Why don't you call me back later?"

There was a pause on the other end, then, "I'm flying out to Oregon to see the show."

A sudden happiness filled her chest before she even realized it. How long had she been waiting for her boyfriend to show some kind of interest in her and her career? The idea that he had decided to take the time to look up the schedule and plan a flight, pushed back the more realistic concerns that should have bothered her; like how was he paying for this trip. She was too stupidly happy that he was finally showing some initiative, that she pushed the problems out of her head and quickly added, "I'll arrange the show tickets. I can't wait to see you, Hun."

Remy tapped his fingers on the table awkwardly and looked towards the hallway that led to the bathrooms. He couldn't understand whom Rogue was talking to, but he had gotten used to her somewhat obsessive phone checking skills. It seemed like she was always hoping that something would appear on her screen and was almost always disappointed that whatever she wanted wasn't there. For some reason that he didn't understand, it bothered him to think that someone was messing with her emotions. Of course, he was pretty well aware that had he asked about the mysterious phone calls she probably would have growled at him and snapped out a smart remark.

He had never been the type of person to have trouble understanding what he was feeling. Hungry, horny, mad, happy, or sad was about as far as things went. Things like emotions were simple and easy to categorize in his head. There was no reason to fly off the handle and get yourself in trouble over something as trivial as that. Life was too short to become tied down with things like drama and relationships. He had avoided the second one on that particular list like the plague for most of his life. There was something far too confining to him about having to report back to another person all the time. Besides, he already paid Jean an outrageous amount of money to keep track of anything he had to do. Why would he need to saddle himself with some woman he would probably end up spending tons of money on and would be demanding his attention all the time?

When Bella Donna had stomped into the room, he had been certain that it would be just another fun round of flirt till she gives in, have some fun, and part ways. She had put up a much larger fight, and still was, to his advances, but he found the way she growled at him all the more attractive. She was fiery and worth more of his attention than the random women staking out the hotel lobby for any sign of him.

Yes, Bella was just a fun challenge and that was it. Why should it matter to him if someone was dragging her through some kind of rough relationship or whatever? If anything, her being on the outs with some guy probably made his ideas a lot easier. As he downed the last of his bourbon, he slowly gave in to the growing realization that the bigger question, was why did the idea of her being used so callously make him so furious?

Either way, when Anna finally strolled back to the table, she seemed happier than before. Unlike her childish glee at watching the Seattle landscape fly by their window, this happiness seemed a little more inexplicable. It was like she was nervous and yet calm at the same time. Her hands started to drum nervously on their table as the calmness and warmth of their earlier moment, whatever it had been, died.

The clouds had gathered together during their time in the restaurant and by the time they made it back to the first floor a steady rain was beating down on the parking lot. As he offered his trench coat to her for some shelter from the drops, he noted that she no longer searched the area with sweet green eyes. She no longer seemed to focus on the landmarks that had once been so captivating and merely thanked him as they rushed into the first cab that came their way. Her mood stayed boringly calm and bland as they rode back to the auditorium for the last rehearsal before show time. She would nod at his comments and take a few photos as they drove, but the sweet and honest happiness had been ripped away by something that seemed to be taking a lot of her thought processes.

As the cab pulled into the parking lot and Anna rushed off immediately to find Kitty, he sauntered to the building with little interest in the show. His brain was so focused on the various scenarios that would force Rogue's mood change that he didn't respond when Logan growled out some dig at him. It wasn't until the muscular man nudged Remy a little harder than necessary that he gave any attention to the outside world.

"Snap out of it, Gumbo," Logan grumbled and chewed on the cigar he had finally been able to smoke when he just happened to 'conveniently' lose track of Rogue and Remy after dance class. He trusted the blonde to kick the Cajun swiftly and accurately if he pulled any stunts, and it had been far too long since he had been able to get some alone time on this tour. "You got to get going to the stage."

"Oui," Remy mumbled and scratched at his chin softly, "Did you find anything out about her?"

Logan was not known as the best in the business for nothing. He may have looked pretty strange in the role of background checker, but he had found all sorts of things the best biographers had never discovered about Remy LeBeau. Thankfully, as far as Remy knew, Logan had kept some of the most interesting stories to himself and not alerted Ororo. Aside from studying Remy's life, Logan had a knack for searching for any kind of news on the opening acts from past tours. He had once claimed, that it made security easier when you had a good understanding of the person you had to watch.

This time, Logan took a moment longer to consider Remy's request. Normally, he would have spouted off figures in his usual, unimpressed voice without a bit of care what they sounded like. But now he made a face Remy could only describe as thoughtful than shrugged his shoulders, "Basic stuff. Lived in the south, moved to New York, tried to make it as a singer after years of retirement." He snorted as if he thought the whole question was ridiculous, "Nothing to get your nose out of joint, Gumbo."

There was something missing. Remy could sense that without even trying to study Logan's face for some clue. Something was different or wrong with Bella Donna, but it seemed that Logan was going to remain quiet on the matter. Obviously, that must mean it wasn't too dangerous. He trusted Logan enough to know the man would have long ago jumped into action if something bad were heading their way. The only question was what did he know about Remy's odd little starlet and why did not knowing drive Remy insane?

* * *

 **By the way, thanks for the idea of what drink to give Mister LeBeau, Jehilew. :)**


	11. Lucky 4 U (Tonight I'm Just Me)

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The X-Men Or Anything Related To The X- Men. I Also Don't Own The Chapter Title Song, 'Lucky 4 U (Tonight I'm Just Me)' By SHeDAISY.**

 **The Chapter Title Song Is, 'Lucky 4 U (Tonight I'm Just Me)' By SHeDAISY. I have been waiting to throw this song with a Rogue chapter for so long. When I heard it way back in the day, I thought of Rogue and figured sometime I could put it in a story.**

 **Thanks for reading the other chapter guys and girls. And thank you for taking time out of your busy lives guys and gals to look at the newest chapter. Thanks to Mrs. Jehilew for her fun review. : ) Anyhow, here is another new chapter:**

* * *

The word Oregon took on totally different meanings for Rogue and Kitty, as the date approached quicker than either of them expected. From the moment Rogue had grabbed Kitty's arm in Seattle and started rattling off information about Cody coming to see the show, a small layer of dread had begun to grow in Kitty's stomach. They had created such a nice flow over the past shows and now Cody was going to throw a rock into their nicely laid out plans. He still had no job, no prospects, no apparent idea how his lack of attention hurt Anna, and only the faintest idea how much Kitty disliked him.

Had Anna not been bustling around the place like a kid on a sugar high, she would have nixed the whole idea back in Seattle. Well, even Kitty had to admit to herself that she didn't have the power to tell Anna whom she could and couldn't see, but she still wanted to stop this whole thing. Especially the part where Anna wanted to tell Cody the truth about her being Bella Donna. The man hadn't even been able to keep Anna's surprise birthday party a secret! Yet, Anna's long-winded explanations and Kitty's over-tiredness had eventually worn down the tiny brunette into agreeing to help plan some way for Cody and Anna to have a private chat. As it turned out, thanks to Nathan and his cold germs, Kitty had easily been able to get Anna a private space to talk with Cody.

The flu of doom, as those who were suffering through it called the nasty thing, had started to spread back in Washington. Some of the stage hands had been sneezing and taking various allergy medications, but it hadn't been until Kitty saw the bags under Ororo's eyes that she became worried for her own health. Ororo had kept her distance, to avoid giving Kitty any germs during their meeting, but when Nathan had walked into the room and accidently sneezed on Kitty, it was over. With her manager/image consultant sick, Rogue had been automatically granted a separate hotel room on the same floor as all of the healthy tour members.

"Okay," Anna smiled at Kitty, though the girl couldn't see it through the mask Anna wore. It was silly in some ways to go through this much hassle, but when the declaration to keep everybody covered and germ free had gone through the crew and singers' phones, Anna had given in to the order. Besides, the funny masks and gloves they were both wearing, was the only reason Kitty was able to be her hair stylist, "So I will duck out as quickly as I can from the show and meet him at the hotel's front desk."

"Uh-huh," Kitty mumbled as she stuck another bobby pin in the wig and tried not to shiver in the freezing hotel room. She had wanted to follow Anna to the concert hall and do her hair and makeup there, but her desire to pass out in her fluffy bathrobe and watch an old movie was greater. "Just be careful, Anna. What if he lets it out that you aren't Bella? We could be in a lot of trouble."

"It will be okay, Kitty. I know Cody might seem a little loose with some information, but he will understand how sensitive this whole thing is." She looked up at her friend as the girl stopped messing with her hair to start another coughing fit. The look of pain on Kitty's face greatly bothered Anna, and she tried to rub the young woman's back to help her get rid of the fit. "You sure that you don't want me to pick you up anything? I can talk to Cody in the morning and come check on you tonight if you want, Kitty. I could get you some of those trashy romance novels you love."

"No way," Kitty shook her head and motioned for Anna to pull her own hand back, "Aside from makeup and hair, we can't be together."

"You know I never get sick."

"Shut it," Kitty sniffled out after giving a powerful sneeze, "You are not getting sick on my watch. You can just leave the trashy novels and a gallon of Sunny-D outside my door. But you are staying healthy no matter what. Got it?"

"Got it, captain." Rogue grinned in spite of herself and gave Kitty a tiny salute.

The show ran better than Anna had expected any of them would. She had felt a new bounce in her step, as she powered through a new song that had been added to her line-up three shows back. If she stopped and really let herself think about the fact she was acting almost giddy over a boy, she was sure that she would have been completely grossed out by herself. Instead, she turned her beating heart and high energy level into each of the dance moves Remy had taught her over the course of their first lessons. The audience responded in equal measure to her active performance and even seemed a little disappointed when her song list ended and she took the final bow. Of course, she knew no matter how much they enjoyed her performance, they were five times more excited for Remy to start his first song.

Once she was safely backstage, the girl stripped off her heels for a pair of comfy sneakers and shouted a quick goodbye to Logan before dashing out the backstage door. With everyone nestled inside the loud concert hall, the parking lot was clear of any kind of traffic jam or overexcited fans. She was able to snag a cab with little difficulty and started to think that her plan might work out after all.

Everything did go smoothly, until she exited the convenience store with a gallon of Sunny-D and a stack of the most random romance novels she could find. Her cabby had still been waiting patiently for her, enjoying the fact she had taken longer than expected to get in and out of the store and had even pulled out on the road at an impressive speed. Yes, everything was smooth sailing for the fake blonde, until they hit the longest traffic line she had seen on the entire tour.

They crawled through the congestion at a snail's pace and didn't arrive at the hotel until Anna's gallon of orange juice had become sufficiently warm and a few of the paperback books had gotten slightly soaked by the bottle's perspiration. She tipped the man, realizing that Cody could very well be standing at the hotel desk that very moment. She wanted to explain what was going on to him, but she had wanted to do it when she wasn't decked out in full Bella Donna gear. That might have been a little too much of a surprise for Cody to handle outright.

Since she saw no sign of Cody in the front lobby, Anna added a stop at the ice machine to her list of chores. Kitty had done so much for her, that she couldn't just shove warm orange juice and soggy books at the girl. After she filled a large container with ice, she submerged the orange juice and brought the items to Kitty's door. After knocking and announcing her presence, Kitty thanked her but flatly refused Anna entrance into what she claimed was no longer a hotel room, but an utterly horrible germ factory.

With her Kitty check-up finished, Anna waltzed back towards the lobby. Unlike her friend's room on the first floor, the healthy members of the tour had been assigned the second floor to keep as much distance as possible between the two groups. As she stood at the elevator waiting for the telltale ding of its arrival, she let herself relax a little. Aside from the long traffic stop, the plan was going pretty well. All she had to do was change clothes and talk to Cody.

"Hey, Bella!"

The shout caught her off guard and forced her to look back out to the lobby. Standing near the revolving doors of the hotel was a very happy looking Cody. He waved enthusiastically at her and seemed to have no qualms with announcing her fake name in the somewhat crowded lobby. Anna waved back slowly, and wondered if it would be better to go and greet him or run upstairs and change first.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Logan standing beside the front desk. She hadn't thought about it too hard, during all of the excitement, but enough time had passed to end the concert and set loose everyone in their tour group. Why he was down in the lobby and talking to some desk attendant, Anna didn't know. But she had enough sense to realize that Logan was now ignoring the woman trying to talk to him and focusing his quizzical eyes on her and Cody.

To keep the moment from exploding in front of any other witnesses, Anna walked casually over to Cody and tried to keep her back to Logan so he could not see their faces. Part of her wondered if Remy was somewhere in the lobby as well. Had they already gone up to their rooms or were various members of her tour group sitting around the lobby watching this scene?

"Sorry, I'm late," Cody spoke up easily and seemed to miss the sense of dread building in Anna's green eyes. "There was some kind of traffic issue. I left after you finished the last song, but the cab couldn't get through."

She couldn't understand if he was a better actor than she gave him credit for or if Cody was in shock after seeing her in the wig, outfit, and enough make-up to cover a whole beauty pageant. Either way, she mumbled out a somewhat understandable statement and tried to usher him towards the hotel's bar only a few feet away. She knew there was a chance that a roadie, or worse, Remy might be in there, but she picked a tiny table in the farthest corner of the room to give them some space from other customers.

"I guess you have a lot of questions…" Anna mumbled in a whisper and watched every movement Cody's eyes made in the dim lighting of the room.

"A few." He admitted and leaned forward slightly to stare into her face better, "Why the new stage name?"

 _That is his question_?

Anna, nearly fell out of her chair when he picked one of the least important questions from a very long list of possibilities. Where was the real Bella? How long have you been pretending to be your cousin? Why did Remy dance so close to you on the stage? So many options and Cody sat there with a serious look on his face and asked about a stage name?

"I got it off of a t-shirt actually…" She tried to pretend it was the result of his shock that kept him so far from the important topics. "Look, I wanted to explain some things to you. But I was hoping not to do it in this outfit."

"Why? You look great."

He grabbed hold of her hands softly and a small smile spread across Anna's face. She couldn't remember the last time they had been sitting in such a secluded spot and so focused on each other. It was definitely a nice change to spend a night out not texting on their phones and ignoring each other. The way his thumb gently rubbed her palms and his eyes glowed in the light of the tiny candle sitting at the center of their table, was enough to knock her off of her soap box for a moment.

"I missed you, Cody." She admitted still keeping her voice at a low whisper as she leaned forward.

"Wait a minute," He pulled her out of the daze and suddenly gained a more serious tone, "As much as I want to continue this, we'll have to wait. I am supposed to be meeting someone here. But, maybe later we can spend some time together?"

With a flash of heart-wrenching pain, the reality of the situation finally hit the ridiculously unaware Anna square in the face. There was no shock induced calmness or skilled acting going on in this room; Cody had absolutely no idea that it was her under the wig and pounds of make-up! She was sitting only inches from his face, their hands clutched tightly together as they looked into each other's eyes, and he had no freaking idea who she was!

How could so many years of love and struggling turn them into this? Anna tried to take a breath but found her lungs felt frozen and even her heart seemed to be skipping a few beats. Why didn't she know that they had slid this far apart?! How could she have been so supremely stupid to think that Cody was her true love when he obviously couldn't pick her out under a cheap wig!?

"Belle?" Cody's voice broke her panic attack and he let his hand roam up her arm, "Are you okay? Look, we can have some fun just like last time, but I really need to go see someone first."

So now she was just _someone_ _he had to see_?

All the nights she had wasted worrying about him and feeling bad for spending time with Remy and he was probably out there living it up?! Actually, he was living it up on _her_ money. A new sense of agony filtered through her broken heart as she realized how many of his past shenanigans she had probably paid for through their joint account. What had he been doing all those nights she was working her butt off at the diner? And more importantly, what in the wild world did he mean by, 'We can have the same fun as last time'?!

Memories of all the nights she spent working with Bella started flooding her senses. She had been so happy to see that he had gotten along with Belle and not annoyed her when she came home from her shift at the diner. The whole time she thought he had sucked it up and cleaned the apartment for her to work with her cousin, and now she realized he hadn't done it for anything more than a booty call. Suddenly, every compliment he had offered when Belle showed them her costumes or new contacts all those nights ago took on a more sinister feeling. How could she be that stupid?!

Despite the fact she was battling the strong urge to beat Cody senseless and the only slightly less strong urge to weep at the same time, Anna forced herself to investigate this further. She would not, could not, walk away without knowing the whole story, "Last time?"

"You remember," Cody bought the fake calmness and let his hand rub her shoulder, "That time we met up at that little bar and all those stolen moments when you came over to work with Anna."

 _So he can remember my name after all_? Anna thought bitterly as Cody's hand moved up once again and stroked her chin. Her teeth clenched painfully as the anger threatened to erupt at any moment. She no longer cared if she made a scene in a crowded bar or busy lobby. The whole crew could see her attack him for all she cared at that moment. All she could see was red from the growing rage and her bleeding heart.

She had to ask him at least once… she couldn't walk away without hearing it directly from Cody, "I thought you and Anna were in love?"

"We have more of an open relationship." He almost touched her hair, but stopped as her hand whipped out and clutched his wrist in a death grip, "Bella, you know I wouldn't tell her about us. You don't have to worry about it."

"Oh, _I_ don't have to worry," She snarled out, somehow managing to avoid screaming at him with the entire force building inside her gut, "But you better start."


	12. All You Get From Love Is A Love Song

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The X-Men Or Anything Related To The X- Men. I Also Don't Own The Chapter Title Song, 'All You Get From Love Is A Love Song' By The Carpenters. I Do Not Own The Song 'Everything Else' From The Musical 'Next To Normal'.**

 **The Chapter Title Song Is, 'All You Get From Love Is A Love Song' By The Carpenters.**

 **Thanks for reading the other chapter guys and gals. And thank you for taking time out of your busy lives guys and gals to look at the newest chapter. Thank you to everyone who reviewed too. Part of the dialogue and another line are from the song 'Everything Else' from 'Next To Normal'. It is an interesting musical if you have the chance to read about it or go see a performance.**

 **Here is the newest chapter:**

* * *

She had made it through more than twenty years of life and had never been asked to leave a restaurant or been kicked out of another person's house. But as Anna sat in the hotel's rentable party room with a piano in front of her and a bottle of cheap liquor from the mini bar in her room on the bench beside her, she didn't regret being banned from the hotel bar at all. She wouldn't take back the chance to scream at Cody while watching him practically cower at the table, for a million dollars.

Maybe it had been her Bella Donna, the boyfriend-stealing jerk, side that she had brought out in that giant public display of anger. But either way, even she knew that she had put on quite a show. Part of her had wanted to rip off the wig and tell him exactly who he had been talking to the whole time, but she had forgotten the hair piece and lost herself in yelling random, hard to comprehend threats about if he ever came near her (or anyone in her family) again, she would show him exactly how talented she could be with a grudge and a set of fists. The way he had tipped back fearfully in his chair while babbling 'I'm sorry, Bella' over and over had convinced her that he still didn't get the whole stupid predicament forcing an even larger wave, if it was humanly possible, of resentment to nearly drown her and everyone in the bar.

She downed another swig of the bottle and turned her attention back to the piano. The instrument was slightly out of tune, but it could offer her a nice distraction from the idiot she had wasted so many years of her life worrying about, caring for, and loving. Anna popped her fingers strategically before she set them across the keys with a wildly skillful approach.

"Mozart?" Remy's voice broke into the conversation but didn't stop her from playing through the rest of her song.

"You know he was crazy…" She mumbled the statement as a garbled mix between question and blunt announcement.

"Batshit, I hear." Remy dropped his usual third person pattern of speech and sat down beside Anna and her new friend. He picked up the bottle and noted how much of it was already gone, before staring back at the harried looking blonde. He hadn't seen Rogue drink through their entire tour so far, but he had always figured if she were going to let loose and have a drink she would have picked brand name liquor.

"He might not be the only one." Anna sighed and sent her fingers into yet another tune on the piano.

Playing the piano had been a comfort to her since she was a little girl. Her adoptive mother had tried to find something that Anna could put all of her pent up emotions into, and when they tried the piano, something had just clicked. She had become enthralled by the second hand one Raven had bought for hours at a time. In fact, she knew most of the basic and more famous classical pieces found in any piano for beginners' book by heart. There was something about the way the music was organized so nicely and the fact it kept her hands busy that comforted her.

"So why wasn't Remy invited to this impromptu concert?" He smiled at her kindly but didn't receive more than a blank look in response. It took him aback for a moment to see the lack of color and shine on Anna's face. Where there had once been such joy only hours before now was a lack of anything resembling any emotion. It was as if someone had sucked the last bit of feeling out of her body and left a Rogue doll in her place.

"Don't you have a groupie to go seduce instead of following me?" She mumbled and stopped playing long enough to reach out for her bottle. Remy pulled it out of her reach and the girl finally showed some anger; "I am in no mood for this, Remy."

"And you are in no state for this." He added and refused to give into her demands.

"Oh, yeah…" The bitterness still simmering inside her chest started to bubble up and attack Remy, though he had nothing to do with her idiotic choices, "You are one to talk. No one demands that _I_ stay away from bars. Which one of us has been gulpin' it like a fish on this trip, huh?"

Remy didn't take the frankness of her words to heart. He had already heard through the other members of the tour that something had gone down in the hotel bar. They hadn't known who the scared looking boy being yelled at by Bella Donna was, but it had been hard to miss that big of a scene. It was even harder to miss, when the bartender tried to force her to leave after she took a swing at the scared guy. According to the crewmembers, Bella had stormed out with such ferocity that people practically dove to the sides to avoid crossing her path.

They might not have had any real ideas about what was happening to the starlet, but Remy had a few guesses. He was almost certain that this guy encounter had something to do with the strange phone calls and the way Rogue's moods would change whenever her phone made any noise. This had to be the same jerk that dared to mess with his starlet, he thought without a care to the way the words felt in the more cynical side of his brain. Now, all he needed to do was comfort her and plan exactly what kind of scare he would give the man who had dared to hurt her.

"Remy drinks a little," The man admitted in a calm voice, "but he don't hit the stuff to cure his problems." He set the bottle on the ground and turned so he was straddling the bench and able to look fully at Rogue's face, "Talkin' to me will help a lot more than anything in that bottle, Chere."

Rogue scoffed at the words but didn't try to verbally or physically push him away. She could have easily jumped up and tried to grab her bottle, instead, she let his words soak into her skin. Although she wasn't completely sure she wanted to talk about her failed love life with Remy, especially since he would never understand the story without knowing the _whole_ story, she could understand that he was right about the drinking. A hangover would probably just cause her more problems in the long run.

"Why don't we go somewhere a little nicer?" Remy offered her a hand and she couldn't bring out enough emotion from her tried body to refuse the gesture.

After only a few expert twists and turns, including a few spaces that Rogue was almost sure were not supposed to be accessed by guests, the two wound up in a small garden like space in the back of the hotel. There was a gently flowing fish pond in the center of the area, while various plants and benches coated the rest of the tranquil garden. Despite the seasons already shifting into late fall, the area was surprisingly healthy looking.

They took a seat at one of the benches closest to the water feature and settled into a somewhat comfortable silence. The cold wind picked up slowly and forced Anna to visibly shiver since she was still dressed in her flimsy concert outfit. Remy pulled his left arm out of his jacket sleeve and skillfully wrapped the coat and his arm around her shoulders so they could both enjoy the warmth of the covering. Had she not been feeling the strong chill of a wild winter wind, he was almost certain that Rogue would have fought his offer to snuggle for warmth. But the broken girl merely sat still beside him and said nothing to support or destroy the idea.

"I guess Ororo is going to be mad in the morning." Anna murmured after about a half hour of silence.

"Pourqoui?"

"Like you don't know," She added with only the tiniest hint of her old spunk in the words, "You only came looking for me after hearing I was banned from a bar."

"Non," He shook his head and leaned back a little in the seat, "Remy look for you every time. Can't let my Chere go to sleep without a nice word from me."

She rolled her eyes at his usual inane behavior and let out a long sigh, "Shut it, Cajun. I don't even want to think about men right now."

Remy picked up on the shift in her tone, and tried his best to work out a few more answers without upsetting Rogue into a stubborn silence, "The jerk in the bar?"

"So you did hear?" She mumbled and focused her eyes on the slowly moving water as it ran down the rock ledge, "You heard that my- my cousin's boyfriend has been cheating on her for who knows how long and didn't even care that he broke her heart?"

The logic of that statement was hard for Remy to understand. He tried to really concentrate on what she was saying through the slightly garbled tone, but some of the words were a little too strange to comprehend. All he could come up with was somehow she ran into her cousin's boyfriend in Oregon, discovered he was cheating, and taken it very hard. He understood the idea that you support family, and knew that had he been in a similar situation he would have been very upset too. But why was she drinking and acting _this_ upset? Did she normally break down this badly when anyone in her family was hurt? If he didn't know better, he would have almost thought that it was actually her boyfriend that had admitted he was cheating on her.

The idea slowly formed in Remy's head until he couldn't deny it any longer. This _was_ her boyfriend that had shown up. All the talk about her cousin was just the liquor and a refusal to admit that someone she had obviously cared a great deal about had hurt her. Belle seemed like a private enough person that he could understand her keeping a boyfriend a secret from the rest of the group. So, Belle had been shattered by a jerk that would dare to cheat on her?

Remy's rage rose sharply as he tried to picture how anyone could treat Rogue like that. Sure she had her stubborn side, but he had seen how much she cared about those people she let into her life. It wasn't his problem, but he just couldn't step back now. She loved people with her whole heart when they made their way into her small group of trusted loved ones and this man had just stomped all over her heart.

"Somethin' like that," Remy added softly and decided to not press her to admit that it was really her boyfriend and not her cousin's. Rogue had been hurt enough for one night and he was not going to do anything but try and comfort her. "Sounds like a real ass."

"Not as big as my cousin." Anna added in spite of the fact Remy was right beside her, "What kind of idiot can't see past a pretty face and a couple of lines?"

"Remy." He answered suddenly and forced her to look back at his face. He had a small mischievous smile and seemed to have finally thought of something pleasant to brighten their pity party with. "Remy be just that kind of fool, Chere."

She paused for a minute, unsure if she should encourage him or attempt to wander back to her bedroom. She was starting to have trouble thinking clearly enough to remember if she was in room 24B or 42B. The wind blew past them again and she cuddled to his side out of instinct, settling the question of staying or stumbling back inside. Remy wrapped his arm around her tighter to hold her to his warm side and decided not to let her have a choice on whether or not he told his story.

"Remember when Remy told you that we had met as kids?" She nodded and he smiled wider as if he could picture the whole scene in his head, "Well, back then I was still pretty much on my own, and that day I picked the wrong pocket-"

"You were a thief?" She butted in, but he shushed her.

"It's rude to interrupt a story, Chere." She blinked a few times but settled back into the side of his body as he started to speak again, "Anyway, Remy picked the wrong guy that day. This big, fat guy with a pink face and a wallet that only held twenty bucks. He noticed his wallet was missin' only a few minutes after I had taken it, and boy was he mad. He took off after me and chased me down at least five blocks before I spotted a little tree house in the front of this big old mansion."

He adjusted their position so he could touch his hands together and noticed how interested Rogue was in the little tale from the past. He couldn't help but wonder if she was starting to remember this story and her role in the tale, "I hid inside and watched that big guy go charging into the house. The moment Remy thought he was safe, heard a soft voice ask, 'what ya doin' in my tree house? Boys aren't allowed up here.'"

"Belle?" Rogue guessed in a liquor-coated voice and noticed he didn't seem to care that she used the name instead of just saying, 'It was me.'

"Exactly, Chere." He chuckled and shook his head at the memory, "There stood a tiny little thing with a full head of blonde curls and a pretty frown on her face. Remy told her that he was just passin' through, but she threatened to scream for her dad if I didn't stay and play with her."

Anna smiled to herself as she tried to picture someone telling Remy LeBeau what to do. The idea that he had once been bossed around by an itty-bitty girl, even if that girl had been Belle, was funny enough to force her to let out a very small laugh. Remy, glad to see a sign of emotion from Anna, rolled his eyes and tried to finish his story with a little dignity.

"We played a few games of go fish and tea party, then she said, 'You gotta play one more game, then you can go.' Remy figured it was another board game, but she leaned forward and demanded that I kiss her right then and there." He waited a moment before looking at Rogue to see if she finally remembered the story, but she remained an opinion-less audience member as if she was hearing this story for the first time, "I refused. Told petit she was crazy. She twisted that pretty face into the scariest expression I ever saw and threatened to yell I had broken into her little house, so loud that her pere _and_ the big man would come runnin'. So, Remy closed his eyes and gave her one quick kiss."

"Then what?"

"After that," He chuckled at the memory, "Petit pushed me away and promised to be quiet so Remy could escape."

"How is that a story about falling for a pretty face and fake promises?"

"'Cause, the moment Remy's feet touched the floor, she let loose a scream so loud that her pere, the big guy, _and_ her brother came running out of the house like it was on fire."

He shook his head as he remembered the craziness of that day and the multiple bruises he had received from Belle's big brother, "Remy may have learned to be weary of a pretty face, but he still don't regret that first kiss."

"You are hopeless, you know that?" She laughed softly and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"We all be a little hopeless, Chere." He heard her yawn softly and dared to rest his chin on her blonde hair, "But the pain be worth it."

"Why?" She mumbled, finding the desire to sleep calling her despite the odd spot she was currently in.

"Cause we also get some tres belle moments in life," He waited in silence for a second to see if she was awake, but when her slow breathing confirmed she had slipped into a deep sleep, he gently kissed the top of her head and whispered, "Remy wouldn't trade this one for anything."


	13. Autobiography

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The X-Men Or Anything Related To The X-Men. I Also Do Not Own The Chapter Title Song, 'Autobiography' By Ashlee Simpson.**

 **The Chapter Title Song is 'Autobiography' By Ashlee Simpson.**

 **Thank you for reading the past chapter everyone! I appreciate you guys and gals taking time out of your busy days to look at this story and the newest chapter. Thanks to the sweet Mrs. Jehilew for her nice review. She knows Remy better than most people I know, so it means a lot to hear she likes him in this story.**

 **Anywho, here is the newest chapter:**

* * *

When the sky overhead began to shift from a dark canopy of clouds and hidden stars to a bright new dawn, Anna stirred awake slowly. She could feel the warm pillow under her head move every so often in a steady rise and fall, but couldn't think clearly enough to question the rhythmic motions. Instead, she raised a free hand to rub at her eyes and tried to recall what had happened last night and why her head was pounding.

 _Cody_ , she suddenly remembered. The lying cheat named Cody had happened last night. How could she have forgotten for even a moment the pain that had been coursing through her veins? She looked to her side still expecting to see an alarm clock or desk lamp but noticed that she was greeted with a wall of dark fabric and the strong smell of smoke and spices.

Upon closer inspection, and a few more eye rubs, she was able to piece together where and who she was with. She remembered sitting with Remy on the bench and giving into his hug for the extra warmth and possibly a small bit of comfort, though she would never tell him that. Now that she was watching his head move up and down with each slow breath, she began to really question her choices. Had they spent the entire night out in the little garden?

She tried to pull herself away from Remy's embrace, but the movement easily woke the crimson-eyed boy and forced him to snap back to attention. He smiled at her with a sleepy expression and didn't seem to be feeling any sort of awkwardness or regret for spending the night with her on a park bench. He slid his jacket off of his shoulders and set it fully on her pair as she shuffled away from him on the bench.

Nothing had happened between them, she was sure of that despite the fuzziness of her memory. They had talked and snuggled in the cold, but she found herself believing that Remy would not have pulled anything on her when she was that far gone. _Who knows_ , she thought as her hands tried to wrap the jacket tightly around herself out of growing embarrassment, _what he is thinking after seeing that drunken stupor_.

She didn't consider herself a drinker, minus a few over indulgences during past emotional upsets, but now there was a heavy weight on her shoulders making her feel like she was some trashy woman with bottles hidden all around. It was untrue, but she couldn't help letting her imagination swirl as she tried to picture what kind of drunk she must have been when Remy found her at the piano. At least she could take some comfort in the past recounts of her drunken self being friendly if not a little overly gabby.

"Mornin'," He greeted her without any mention of the prior night, and stretched out his arms, "Is your back as sore as Remy's?"

She nodded her head in silence and noticed how he watched her with the same non-judgmental smile. There was no hint of malice or humor in his eyes and she started to let herself become comfortable with the idea that Remy might not be planning to hold her behavior last night over her head. Despite his acts of kindness, she couldn't bring herself to let the topic drop right there. The pressing issues were still roaming around her mind and becoming more prominent as her mental faculties woke up and went back to their normal levels.

"About last night…" She thought for a moment and stared back at her shoes, "I don't know what I said… or did. But I just, I…"

"Non," He shook his head and leaned forward so his forearms could rest on his thighs allowing his back to stretch out, "You don't have to say a thing, Chere. This can be our little secret, Oui?"

"Yeah." She nodded her head and for the first time since her world had been rocked, let out a sweet smile. "Thank you, Remy."

As the group packed up and headed out to their next shows in California, Anna's spirits, along with the health of the entire crew, seemed to plummet to new lows. Besides Kitty, Ororo, and a good portion of the crew, the flu had managed to hit Scott and even the ever-careful Jean. Nathan, who most of the group suspected had first brought the flu germ into their tour, had already bounced back from his bout with the flu-of-doom and was driving his sick parents crazy. They were so overwhelmed with trying to take care of him and work on the tour, that they eventually gave in to Remy's offer to babysit the overactive kid.

"Are you sure you want to watch him on your one day off?" Jean had asked him through a stuffed up nose and blood shot eyes.

"Sure," He responded as the little monkey tried to use Remy's hand as a climbing rope. He was already shocked that his assistant had managed to keep up with the kid through most of their California visit. The least he could do, he thought, was give her a break for a few hours. And the fact that having Nathan for the day gave him a new excuse to push rogue into hanging out with them wasn't too horrible either. How could she say no to a sweet kid like Nathan? "We gonna have a great day, right Big Nate?"

"Right!" The kid shouted and continued to try and swing using both of Remy's hands as a set of gymnastic rings.

Unlike Jean, who had been easy to convince once the deepest part of her flu hit, Rogue had remained resistant to his idea of a day of fun. She had managed to ignore his protests and was not quite as moved by Nathan's multiple shouts of 'pwease' as Remy had hoped. He knew that she was still recovering from a break-up that had rocked her quite deeply, but he couldn't see the point in merely sitting around moping. What good could come from her sitting alone in a hotel room?

Ever since their night in the garden she had been a little more standoffish than before. It wasn't like they had ever been clinging to each other like love sick teenagers, but they had at least been talking. Now it seemed like most of her actions were coated in a fake level of happiness that just kept the general observers off of her case. He could spot the holes in her poorly kept mask, but it didn't seem anyone else had questioned her on the subject.

Kitty had been with her a few times before the concerts, but, as far as he knew, she had been too sick to really sit down and talk with Rogue at length about anything. Logan, the most observant of them all, had been looking at her multiple times with a strange, almost thoughtful expression but he didn't seem excited at the idea of discussing relationships with Rogue. At least the lack of healthy crewmembers had kept the discussion about a very large liquor bill and a small, yet nasty newspaper article about show divas being thrown out of a fancy hotel bar, from being pulled out into the open.

As they eventually pulled up to a small fair that had been set up for the kids in one of the local parks, Anna leaned back in her seat and tried to remember what it was that had convinced her this was a good idea. She had been more than happy to sit and watch movies in her hotel room for the entire day off, until Remy and Nathan had shown up at her door. She didn't believe him when he told her that he needed help watching the kid. She also didn't believe him when he said that they would have fun running around a town fair. Anna had been all but certain, that this was a bad idea, and yet somehow between a crooked smile and a long puppy dog look from Nathan she had found herself saying yes to their idea.

"Come on, Chere." Remy leaned back into the taxi and held his hand out to Rogue, "No frownin' allowed today."

Nathan parroted Remy's phrase happily as Anna took the offered hand and stepped out of the vehicle. She could tell that the little boy adored Remy, and she couldn't help but wonder how someone as outlandish as Remy had become so good with kids. The way he scooped the boy up and put him on his shoulders reminded her of the fathers she had watched in the park when she was a kid. He just seemed to be a natural with Nathan and it both confused and slightly impressed her.

The first stop was a hot dog stand and, despite her better judgment, Anna joined the happy pair in a hot dog and even a shared cotton candy. When the lunch had been messily finished and they had managed to keep Nathan still long enough to wipe off his mustard coated hands, Remy pushed them towards the game booths. She walked slowly behind them as Nathan kept pulling Remy towards the booths with the largest prizes. A few of the people wandering around had gigantic stuffed animals under their arms, but she doubted they had earned them without paying a lot of money. Nobody won at carnival games.

"You know they are all rigged." She grumbled to Remy as he paid a man for three golf balls to throw into fish bowls filled with water of various colors. "You'd be better off just throwing your money in a trashcan."

"All Remy know," He squatted at the counter level and studied the fish bowls with trained eyes, "Is that today you be one big ray o' sunshine, Chere."

"Fine. Waste your money." She huffed still not feeling the happiness of the fair, but definitely feeling slightly annoyed by one Cajun's sarcasm.

As she leaned against the side of the booth, she watched Remy line up his first shot. Despite her firm feelings that this would end with nothing but disappointment for Nathan, she couldn't help but wonder if Remy had any idea what he was doing. His brows dipped down and his deep crimson eyes shifted quickly back and forth as if he was doing some sort of mental math problem. As he held up one of the balls close to his face, she watched in surprise as he simply tossed it straight ahead. Even she knew the point was to bounce the ball into the bowl!

The splash that met her ears next, forced her mouth to fall open. _Had he actually made the shot?_ All of that ridiculous planning and poor throwing and he had made it into a fish bowl? She glanced at his face and saw that he was already watching her with a big arrogant smile. In an instant, she snapped her mouth shut and grumbled, "Beginner's luck."

"Remy could get anyone a perfect hole in one." He claimed proudly and tried to illustrate his point by handing the ball over to Nathan.

Anna watched in silence as Remy kneeled next to the boy and placed his hand on Nathan's left hand. He whispered something into the kid's ear and moved his hand back and forth slowly as if to demonstrate what they were going to do. After three test movements, Remy leaned their hands back and tossed the ball right into another fish bowl. Nathan jumped up and down in excitement, repeating that they had won, while Anna merely stared in surprise at the Cajun.

"Not there just yet." Remy told the boy, then held out the last golf ball to Rogue, "We need one more, Chere. Care to take one for the team?"

"No, I'm good. You ju-"

"Please!" Nathan begged her and tried to push her closer to Remy, "You gots to play!"

Remy raised an eyebrow as Nathan tried every trick he knew to convince Rogue to join their game. When Anna gave in to the request, the little boy applauded and reminded her she needed to stand right next to Remy so they could win. Unlike the way he had just kneeled beside Nathan, Remy took this chance to stand directly behind Rogue. He wrapped his arms around her and placed a gentle hand over the hand holding her golf ball.

She couldn't help but focus on fighting the soft blush that threatened to break out over her face as Remy leaned in closer to her ear. The warmth of his breath hit her neck as he whispered random things about which way to throw the ball. There was no way for her to tell if Remy's mumblings were actually helpful towards the goal, since the mere closeness of his body was already destroying her ability to pay attention to anything besides the warmth of his arms and the rugged feel of his hand over her own.

"Then," He continued a speech she hadn't paid attention to, his lips mere millimeters from her cheek, and tossed their ball, "You just let go, Chere."

The moment the ball hit the bowl; Nathan let out a cheer and hugged her leg happily. She blinked in surprise and patted his head gently; thankful that she had survived Remy's embrace and not let the kid down by failing to win them a prize. Remy, taking full advantage of the moment of celebration, wrapped his arms firmly around her middle than leaned his head down and whispered a quick, 'Told you so' in her ear. The movement forced her to shiver and she noted the smug smile on the man's face as he pulled away from her.

Once Nathan had his giant stuffed lion safely tucked in Rogue's arms, the group moved on to another game booth and even another after that. Somehow, Remy seemed to be an expert at almost every game they tried. It was almost as if he had spent years practicing his basic reflexes to make sharp and calculated movements appear effortless. By the time they reached a train ride Nathan was desperate to ride, she was more than a little curious about how he had become so smooth and flawless in his motions.

"Remy," She questioned him softly as they watched Nathan ride around the train track. "When we talked back in Oregon, did you say that you were a pickpocket?"

The man waved back at Nathan, who had spotted them from his train car, and didn't turn his head to look at Rogue, "Does that bother you, Chere?"

"Well, no… I mean…" She thought about it for a moment and finally decided she couldn't come to a full conclusion. She didn't approve of the action, but she couldn't see Remy doing that just for fun. Surely, he had some reason for being a pickpocket. "I was just curious why you did that. Was it a dare or something?"

"Non," He turned his head to look at her and she could see his eyes were shinning with a mix of curiosity and slight hesitancy. He shook the strange look away with a few blinks and switched back to his normally confident expression, "Nothin' that grand. Remy just did it to get some money for food."

The idea that he was stealing people's wallets for something so basic made her stomach churn uncomfortably. What kind of life had Remy been living before he became a household name? She took a step closer to him and leaned forward to rest her arms on the gate surrounding the train ride. Inside her mind, Anna contemplated if she had the right to ask any further questions. It wasn't like Remy seemed shy when it came to speaking about… well, anything, but maybe his past was something better left to the past. She knew at least part of her early life fit into that category.

"Hey," He nudged her shoulder with his hand then leaned on the fence next to her. The warmth between their touching shoulders seemed to assure her that he wasn't going to bite her head off if she dared to ask him about his life, "No frownin' remember? At this rate, Remy gonna have to think up some sort of punishment."

She rolled her eyes and offered him a small scoff, "Keep it PG, Cajun. We're at a fun fair, remember?"

"PG allows some kissin' so Remy willing to settle for that, till he can get you alone, at least." He laughed and leaned closer to her.

Anna knew she should move, but her feet just weren't listening to her brain. Instead, she remained pressed against Remy's side and tried to ignore the smell of smoke and various spices wafting off of his body. It was strange to realize it, but she was starting to notice just how well they seemed to fit side by side. As if they were two pieces of the same puzzle. She took a slow breath and tried to force her mind to think of something coherent to say before he got the impression that she was daydreaming about him.

"Why did you have to pick pockets for food money?"

She regretted the question the moment it slipped out of her mouth. It sounded so cold and unfeeling to just toss out a subject that could be sensitive to him. She bit her lip and tried to take the question back before he could fully digest her nosey behavior. Remy shook his head and refused to allow her to take back the statement.

"Spent most of my time on the streets as a kid." He normally reserved the true stories of his past for no one, but he couldn't help but let the honest answer fall out of his mouth. "Well, there was a foster home or two, but they weren't exactly Remy's scene."

Anna watched him in silence and fought the urge to break in and tell him that she knew exactly how he felt. She knew the feeling of a bad foster home better than he would have ever believed. Little food, beatings, and the screams of angry people who only cared for her as long as they got some money were all memories she wished would leave her forever. Thinking of Remy going through situations similar to her own, forced a small ache to start growing in her heart.

"So, when I turned ten, hit the streets and started takin' care of myself." He winked at her, refusing to show emotions that matched the story he was telling Anna, "That was when I crossed paths with Jean-Luc LeBeau."

"And he adopted you?" She tried to fill in the gap since his story was moving slower than her need for information could handle.

"More or less, Chere." He shrugged his shoulders and turned his body so he could watch her fully instead of the train, "Jean-Luc took me under his wing and taught me all sorts of stuff; the correct ways to pick pockets, how to disable security systems, and even how to get away with almost anything."

"Almost anything?" She mumbled under her breath wondering what the generic term could apply to. It surely made a lot more sense why he was able to pick locks and win crooked carnival games. But there was still one part missing in this brief story of his life, "So how did you end up with Ororo then?"

He laughed softly and gave another wink, "Well, when Remy got caught takin' something a little bigger than a wallet, they gave him a choice; volunteer work or juvie. Got assigned to volunteer at a local charity show Ororo was hosting, and she convinced this thief to try singing for money instead of searchin' for it in other people's pockets."

Internally, Anna had to pull out every stop to keep from bursting out all sorts of random statements about the story he had just shared with her. What were the chances that they actually had so much in common? If she hadn't been found by her foster, and eventually adoptive, mother when she was eight, who knows what she would be doing now. Her story could have been the same as Remy's tale of life on the streets if someone hadn't stepped in and loved her.

But no matter the connection she knew they had, she couldn't tell him anything. What could she offer him? A bunch of, 'My cousin was just like you'? He knew Bella had not lived in foster care and trying to merge her past with her cousin's own was not going to do anything but risk showing her secret identity. She couldn't tell Remy that she was really some random girl with a similar past now. If he freaked out at her charade, then not only she but also Kitty would be hurt. She couldn't cost Kitty her job and reputation, no matter how much she wanted to talk to Remy. Besides, after the mess with Cody, she was starting to believe that she should not tell anyone at all about her actually being Anna instead of Belle.

"Puppet show?" Nathan asked Remy as he bounced over to them with no idea what kind of moment he was interrupting.

"Sure, Big Nate." Remy smiled kindly at the boy and led their group only a few feet away to a large gathering of families all sitting lazily on the grass.

Anna followed quietly, still thinking about Remy's past. She smiled softly at Nathan as he patted a patch of grass right next to himself. Despite her earlier misgivings about the day at the fair, she had to admit most of it had been fun. Playing games and eating junk food always managed to put a smile on most sour faces, and Anna was no exception. Still, she ignored the puppet show and watched Remy. He smiled at the juvenile antics of the two puppets and the giggles that Nathan gave as if he didn't have a care in the world.

For the first time, she found herself openly thinking of Remy as more than just a flirtatious troublemaker. Deep down, she was starting to believe that he had a real heart that was far purer than most people would have believed. Sure, as he gave her an eyebrow waggle and tried to wrap an arm around her shoulders, she knew that heart was buried deep under a layer of overconfident pick-up lines and smugness. But it was still there somewhere.

When he gave up the arm around the shoulders move and leaned back to watch the show, she let her hand slide softly towards his and simply kept her fingers gently on top of his own. She didn't look at his face, but she could practically feel the crooked smile coating his lips as he watched the puppet show beside her.


	14. I Won't Say I'm In Love

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The X-Men Or Anything Related To The X-Men. I Also Do Not Own The Title Song 'I Won't Say I'm In Love' By Susan Egan Either.**

 **The Chapter Title Song Is 'I Won't Say I'm In Love' By Susan Egan. There probably had to be a random Disney song somewhere in this story lol.**

 **Thank you to everyone who read the previous chapter. I appreciate you guys and gals taking time out of your busy lives to look at and read this chapter and story. It feels weird to publish stuff so quickly, but I guess we can say you can have two Romy dates for one.**

 **Here is the newest chapter:**

* * *

"You like Remy!" Kitty squealed in her hotel room as Anna groaned loudly and hid her face under a pillow. "I knew it! I totally knew it!"

She peaked out from her pillow mask and noticed Kitty was up from the bed and doing her own version of a touchdown dance. Anna had been delighted when Kitty finally bounced back from the flu, she really had been. But now she found herself missing the days when Kitty would rather sleep instead of talk and sneeze instead of jump around the room.

It wasn't like she had walked into the room and announced that she and Remy were getting married. The way Kitty was carrying on, any viewer would have thought Anna had just declared her engagement. The only mistake she had made, was telling Kitty that she thought Remy was a nice guy under the whole bad boy image. That was the only thing she had been able to say before Kitty had launched herself into a full cheer.

"Kitty," She sighed and threw her pillow at the girl, "You really have no reason to be this excited. The only thing, I repeat, _the only thing_ this means is I don't want to kill him. At least, I don't want to most of the time."

"Aw, an Anna love poem."

The stubborn southerner growled something under her breath at her overexcited friend, then walked across the room to see if her phone was fully charged yet. Ever since Kitty had let it slip to Anna's mother that Cody and her daughter were history, the poor girl had been flooded with phone calls. The phone that had been so empty only a few stops ago, was now almost full with concerned texts and voice mails from her brother and mother. She loved her mother and didn't think the woman would just answer the phone with a, 'I told he was a bum.' But avoiding the issue was easier.

The few times either of her relatives had caught her on the phone, she had managed to steer the conversation to other topics like how their last show had gone, what new songs she was writing, and whether or not she and Kitty were living off of junk food. Raven had only met Kitty a few times when she visited Anna's apartment in New York, but the bubbly girl had made a good impression. In fact, her personality and friendship with Anna had so surprised Raven, that the older women had laughed heartily and explained to Kitty how much Anna had avoided anyone peppy like her through high school. That had been the moment, Anna was almost certain Kitty would have been insulted and stormed out of the apartment. Instead, the girl had simply grinned and made some comment about her being as peppy as Anna's supply of patience could handle. After that, Kitty had practically become Raven's second daughter in New York.

"Shut it, Kitty," Anna snapped after locking her phone screen again and turning to face the beaming girl, "I am not thinking about men at all after Cody."

The smile faltered a little and Kitty shook her head, "I thought we agreed not to say that name anymore? Wasn't the new suggestion that we just say, 'jerkwad' if we couldn't avoid talking about him?"

Kitty watched Anna laugh at the joke and was thankful she seemed to be avoiding a full trip down break-up memory lane. When Kitty had woken up enough to hear the whole story from her friend, she had been completely shocked. She wasn't shocked that Cody had pulled such a stunt, or been so unobservant that he couldn't pick Anna out from behind the Bella disguise. No, she could expect those things. What shocked her was that Rogue had spent the night with Remy. Had she not known Anna as well as she did, she never would have bought the story about her and Remy simply sleeping on a park bench.

Still, she figured that it was a start. It was a start to forgetting Cody and it was possibly a start to something more with The Gambit's bad boy lead singer. She knew, probably better than Rogue did because of her enjoyment of tabloids, that Remy had a history of being a love 'em and leave 'em type. But after seeing him during this tour, her impression was changing each day. There was someone sweet under there and she was almost certain that he was thinking the same thing about Anna.

"You know," Kitty took a moment of silence and walked closer to Rogue, "If you did like him," She held up her hands to show she wasn't trying to start trouble when Anna gave her a frustrated stare, "I said, _if_. You know that wouldn't really be such a bad thing. I mean, I kind of think he likes you."

A deep blush raced across Anna's pale cheeks as she thought about Remy showing her some type of real emotion. He was just her friend. Sure, he spouted off lines about them running off together or made stupid jokes about helping her change costumes, but they weren't anything more than his outgoing nature. Remy didn't actually like her in any real romantic way, no matter what Kitty said. He saw her as a friend or some kind of new woman to flirt with and that was as far as it went… even if she couldn't stop thinking about how warm and muscular his chest was when he held her during their dance.

She fanned her face, suddenly feeling a little too warm between the strong blush and thoughts of Remy. Kitty merely stared at her with a wide grin and bright eyes, making the whole thing even more ridiculous. There was no way Anna should have been that affected by a few simple words. What kind of adult could be so embarrassed by someone saying they were liked?

"You know," She started edging towards the door of Kitty's hotel room, "I think we are out of some snacks and stuff. I'll go get them."

"Want me to come along?" Kitty asked with her grin still on her face.

"No." Anna turned her down immediately and mumbled under her breath, "You have already done far too much."

Somewhere after Chicago, Anna had discovered one of the shampoos Kitty had bought for her really seemed to help with the itchiness and problems associated with wearing a wig for so many hours. The only problem was that it seemed to be a specialty product that only existed in certain stores. Which is exactly why she was still standing, twenty minutes later, in front of a display of at least forty different shampoos with a scowl on her face. Texas was a big enough state that she had been hopeful they would carry the elusive hair wash, but it didn't seem like she was going to have anything to calm her head unless she tried a fancier store.

She adjusted the hand basket on her arm and decided to push ahead with her shopping. She picked up a new face cleanser and more make-up supplies than any person should ever have in their collection. Once Kitty's list of supplies to make Bella-look-pretty-on-stage were picked up, she turned her attention to other necessary items they always kept in stock. At least, she had planned on doing that, till she spotted the familiar baseball cap heading her way.

Remy LeBeau looked comfortable almost anywhere, but he didn't really look like he fit in when he strolled up to her at the make-up isle. She knew it was him under the sunglasses and trench coat, but no one else that passed by their isle gave them a second look. She doubted they would have given _her_ a second look even if they knew she was on a cross-country tour.

Her wig was a little wild under the backward baseball cap she wore mainly to keep the item anchored even tighter than just the safety pins would. Instead of a Bella Donna outfit, she had chosen one of her own personal get-ups that felt comfortable even with the somewhat chilly early November weather outside; a warm green sweater that felt like a soft blanket against her skin, a pair of blue jeans that had some paint stains on the legs from the time she helped Kitty re-do her apartment, and an old pair of sneakers whose purple laces she could no longer unknot completed the outfit.

"Fancy meeting you here, Chere." Remy seemed to have not lost a step, when he saw her outfit up close, which surprised the girl, "Planning on buying the store out of make-up?"

"You have no idea how much of this stuff they smear on women before a show." She laughed at his expression and started to walk past him, "Anyway, I have to pick up some other stuff so I'll see you later."

"Why don't Remy keep you company?" He asked and followed on her heels. He grabbed the hand basket away from her and smiled happily when she sighed and gave him a frustrated expression.

"You don't want to do that, Remy." She tried to grab for her basket, but he held it out of her reach. "Give that back, Cajun."

"Non," Remy held it safely on his arm as she tried again to grab the plastic container, "Remy has decided to help, so you are stuck with him."

"Fine. But I warned you, Swamp Rat."

He laughed at her small threat and followed her through the isles until she stopped at one he had never ventured down before. He stared at the bright boxes and plastic wrappers all around him, and for once started to rethink his plan to follow Rogue. Down in the middle of the space, Rogue was currently staring at him with a triumphant smirk. She made some comment about him being chicken, and Remy furrowed his brow. Remy LeBeau was not chicken.

He marched down the isle and kept his attention on Rogue. She laughed at his determined appearance and pointed to the top shelf. He looked up to where she was gesturing and saw yet another box coated with butterflies and some silhouette of a jogging woman. After sparing a very quick glance to the other boxes surrounding the one Rogue was pointing at, he realized they all looked the same. Sure, the labels said some different things, but he figured one must be as effective as the others. She didn't absolutely need the only one on a shelf that was out of her reach.

"You said that you wanted to help." She told him with a smug sense of success, "So help get that one down."

"Why that one?" He protested and motioned to the hundreds of others that looked just the same, while a young woman on the end of their isle giggled at him. "How about the one right in front of you? It got sparkles and colors all over, so that'll do."

She rolled her eyes at him like he was making stupid jokes or acting completely immature, "Fine, I will get it."

The moment she stepped onto the lowest shelf to try and reach the box she wanted, Remy let out a sigh and gave in to Rogue's request. He gingerly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back from the shelf, then reached up and picked two of the boxes from the top shelf. The woman at the end of their isle, who had never stopped watching them, giggled a little louder and tried to pretend that she hadn't even noticed them when Remy stared at her.

"Thanks, Remy." She laughed as he grumbled something under his breath and directed them away from the toiletries area, "But I only wanted one box."

"Take two. Then there's no way you can con Remy into helping you again."

She laughed loudly at his childish behavior and seemed to forget that he was not going to give up that easily. Rogue may have won that round, but they had a whole supermarket to go through still.

By the time they had reached the end of their shopping trip, Remy had yet to retaliate for her taking him through the 'butterfly-isle-of-death' as he called it when he first groaned about the memory, while she searched for a certain brand of granola bars that Kitty liked. There was something about the way he complained that didn't seem to annoy her as much as it had when Cody would. Although she wasn't certain, she figured it could have had something to do with the fact Remy was still a hardworking man at the end of the day and that he wasn't chewing her out for asking him to do simple household chores after she had been working all day.

Despite his random reminders that she had put him through cruel and unusual situations, he had turned out to be a large amount of help. He had continued to hold her basket, reach things that were too high up for her, and even debated the health content of a few snacks. It was as if she had just stepped into a store with an old friend, and she had to say that she liked the comforting feeling of just hanging out with Remy without any pretenses. They were just two nobodies having a nice day running errands.

"Alright," Remy announced to her as they walked outside of the store, "Remy's turn to pick the activity."

"Excuse me?" She held the bag of make-up items behind her back and watched him curiously, "Who said we were making an afternoon out of this? I just needed to get a few things."

"And I helped." He added as he hoisted the plastic bag up in front of her face, "Boy, did Remy help."

"Would you let that go already?"

"Not until you follow me." He grinned and wrapped his free arm around her shoulder as they strode away from the store.

She should have said something. She should have moved his arm and said that she was busy. But she didn't do any of those things. Instead, Rogue moved her feet forward and let herself stay neatly tucked into Remy's side. She hadn't been this close to him since their day at the fair, and it didn't surprise her to realize that he smelled just as nice. It was a mixture she would never have expected would attract her, smoke, various spices, and something she couldn't quite name. Either way, as they walked to Remy's next spot, she found herself getting lost in the security of his hold.

He stopped suddenly and let go of her shoulders far earlier than she hoped he would. The building in front of them was a simple café that she had spotted on her earlier walk to the grocery store. It wasn't anything fancy and it didn't appear to be one of those hidden treasures people would flock to, but it looked nice enough. She stared up at Remy expecting him to make some comment, but he just walked a few steps ahead and held the door open for her.

Inside the shop, he picked a curved booth in the far back, which forced them to sit closer than Rogue figured was good for either of them. She tried to ask him something over the music playing on the restaurant's speakers, but he couldn't hear her. He took the hearing problems as a free reason to scoot closer, forcing their thighs to touch as his eyes stared into hers like he didn't know there was anyone else in the room. _Then again_ , she thought to herself as she stared back into his crimson eyes, _maybe I'm the one who can't seem to look away_.

She had never been more thankful for an interruption, when the waiter suddenly appeared and broke their moment. As she sunk back into the booth she realized how many ways this whole thing was a bad idea. She was still getting over a nasty break-up, she was sitting next to a man known to flirt with almost any woman older than eighteen, and he didn't even know who she was. Maybe Remy was a good guy, and maybe he had a good heart in there, but that didn't mean she could jump into something like this. Everyone knew how bad it was to date someone right after a break-up! It was worse than going shopping hungry!

"Where did the waiter go?" Anna asked Remy as she suddenly snapped back to the room.

"To get the order." He added and stretched his arms across the back of their booth.

"I didn't order anyt-"

"One chocolate sundae and two spoons," The waiter, quicker than she would have expected, walked over and set the large bowl of ice cream in front of them. "Enjoy."

"We can't eat this." She tried to refuse the spoon he handed her, "I already told you dairy will ruin your voice."

"No," He took her hand in his warm one and pushed the spoon into her palm, "You said it better be chocolate ice cream. So either you help Remy eat this, or he could always feed it to you."

She wanted to snap back at him, but the blush was trying to light up her cheeks again, so she took the spoon with a grumble and shoved a bite into her mouth. He watched her curiously and seemed to find the instant smile that appeared on her face funny. It had been a long time since Anna had let herself stop and enjoy something like chocolate ice cream. She had been so focused on not screwing up the tour, that she had mainly been living off of warm tea and bland foods that her old singing coach had once told her to eat before performances.

Remy made some comment about her hogging the best parts with the hot fudge, but she just offered him a quick stick out of her tongue. She had almost forgotten what it was like to let loose and have a little fun. Maybe Remy's rule about having a no frowning day was worth more than she had originally thought. It felt amazing to let go and just enjoy herself for a moment.

When the ice cream had been nearly finished, the only thing left to argue about was the tiny cherry that had somehow fallen from the top of their sundae and landed in the bottom of the melted ice cream. She reached for it, out of habit, and Remy playfully tapped her hand with his spoon, "Why do you get the cherry?"

"You really want to fight me for that teeny little cherry, LeBeau?" She grinned at him feeling the mix of sugar and Remy's company give her a nice feeling of happiness.

"Big words, from a little girl." He told her with a matching grin and tried to take the cherry before she tapped his hand with a spoon just as quickly.

"Look," She waved her hands like a referee and looked to his eyes, "Why don't we settle this with a little competition?" He raised a curious eyebrow and she held up her fist to him, "Rock, paper, scissors. Winner gets the cherry."

"Oui," He held up his own hand and watched her face for any sign of what she might play. The only problem with his plan was that on the third hand motion, he threw out rock and she grabbed the cherry from the bowl then plopped it into her mouth.

He wasn't sure what was more shocking, that Rogue had tricked him in a simple game or that he found her move made him even more interested in her. It had been a long time since he had met a woman who actually made him think. Sure, he had plenty of women across the states and overseas who would go on a date with him in a heartbeat, but they just didn't interest him past their curves and full lips. There was nothing fun about going out with someone who thought you were the greatest thing since sliced bread.

With Rogue, he had to work to impress her, to gain her attention, to get one bright smile. She made him try harder than he had with any other woman, but for some bizarre reason, he couldn't fathom, he didn't mind having to try. As long as he was able to spend time with her, he felt happy and that was all he really understood about the whole situation.

"You little," He laughed and leaned his face close enough that he could see the small flecks of brown hidden in her eyes, "Well you know what that means; Remy automatically gets the consolation prize."

His lips captured her cold ones in an instant and immediately started to warm them up with his own hungry pair. In the back of his mind, he almost expected her to shove him away and tell him to leave her alone, but she continued to surprise him by tilting her head and kissing him back with just as much force. The effort pushed him forward and he let his hands reach out and take hold of her shoulders in a firm grip.

She shifted slightly in her seat and leaned so close to him that he half expected her to slide right onto his lap. His hands left her shoulders and started to travel carefully up her neckline, until he felt a few wisps of blonde hair touch his fingers. His rough hands cradled her cheeks keeping her pinned to his face as they forgot the world around them. Rogue didn't seem to blink an eye as his thumbs caressed her cheeks, before being pulled away and replaced by small, quick kisses to her chin and neck. She moved her own arm to grab at his shirt and pull him even closer to her; unfortunately the action also caused her elbow to bump the ice cream bowl.

The moment the cold bowl fell on his lap, Remy pulled himself out of their kiss and tried to shove the plastic container off. The melted ice cream that had pooled in the bottom of the bowl stained his jeans and left him with a very uncomfortable icy feeling throughout his body. Rogue, ever concerned for him, tried to bite back a loud laugh and failed. She covered her mouth with a hand and mumbled out something that sounded like sorry, but was almost impossible to understand through various giggles and headshakes.

"I, uh," She chuckled once more as she exited the booth, "I'll get you some napkins, Swampie."

"Thanks." He mumbled feeling more than a little stupid as the people in the restaurant stared in his direction.

It didn't bother him if they saw him kissing a beautiful woman, but that was not why they were all watching him with cheery grins. No, as he noticed a woman in the booth a few feet away from theirs snap a cell phone picture of him sitting with ice cream stains on the lower half of his shirt and lap, he knew that they were definitely enjoying watching a famous singer be as embarrassed as any other human on the street. Still, as he watched Rogue race back to him with a fistful of napkins and a bright smile on her face, he knew it was all worth it to have a moment with that strange Bella Donna.


	15. Bigshot

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The X-Men Or Anything Related To The X-Men. I Also Do Not Own The Chapter Title Song, 'Bigshot' By Billy Joel Either.**

 **The Chapter Title Song Is, 'Bigshot' By Billy Joel.**

 **Thank you everyone for reading the past chapter. I appreciate you guys and gals taking time out of your busy days and lives to read this story. Thank you to Coco-Chic for all of the sweet things she said about this story too. All of you readers and/or reviewers are nice to give this random romance tale a read.**

* * *

By the time Rogue made it back to her hotel room's hallway, she was still feeling the effects of Remy's kiss. She had a hard time letting her mind accept the idea that they were _just friends_ after a display like that. Sure, Remy probably wouldn't have thought twice about kissing a random woman in public, and he had probably kissed a lot of women with that much force, but she still felt somewhat special. For how many of those girls would he have braved tampon shopping? None. In fact, she was almost certain that he would have probably answered that question with a swift no and a long line of profanities if a stranger had asked him. Whatever they were, friends or possibly something else, she was kind of enjoying the feeling.

"Have fun?"

The voice stopped her in her tracks and forced Anna to quit daydreaming and focus on the hallway. She knew the man standing near her door was with the tour, but she couldn't place his name. It was strange, to say the least, since she had gotten to know most of the roadies and other workers on the tour. At least, she knew a good deal of them by their first names or whatever nicknames they had acquired through years spent on random tours. This man looked like one of the guys who helped set up the props for Remy's last number, but she had no idea why he was waiting for her in an empty hall.

"Excuse me?" She adjusted the two bags that were starting to cut into her wrists and walked closer to her door, "What are you talking about?"

"You and Remy LeBeau," He held up his phone and casually showed her a picture of her and Remy kissing at the cafe.

The shock washed over her instantly forcing her to clutch the straps of her plastic bags with two tight fists. She didn't know why he had taken their picture or what he was planning on doing, but she already realized this wasn't going to be good. Out of reflex, she took a step back from him and spared a quick look around her for any sign of Logan or another person who could help if this encounter went sour.

"Don't you remember me?" He asked her in a mysterious tone as if he was testing her before he walked closer. " _Bella_ would know me."

" _I_ don't know you. But if you take one step closer I wil-"

"You'll what, _Anna_?" He smirked at her wide eyes and sudden recognition that he knew a lot more about this situation then she realized.

"What…" She paused a moment, trying to figure out what the best move would be, "What are you talking about?"

"You can drop the act." He leaned against the wall and seemed completely at ease as he threatened her. There was no fear in his eyes or his voice as if he knew even better than she did that they were completely alone.

"How did you figure it out?" She forced her voice to stay angry and firm, no matter how nervous she actually felt under his over confident stare.

"If you are going to impersonate someone," He shook his phone in front of her face, "At least do your homework on who she has dated."

The man in front of her was only an inch taller than herself, with a thinning head of light brown hair, and a few extra pounds around his middle. He didn't look anything like her cousin's usual type of guy. Then again, it was starting to seem that every guy was Bella's type. She knew that Bella did want an emotional relationship with her boyfriends to some degree, but the need for an attractive mate had usually found a way to come out on top. She had broken the heart of at least three men, Anna could remember, when someone with wavier hair or broader shoulders suddenly came into the picture.

Of course, even if he had realized she wasn't Bella Donna that didn't explain how he knew her name was Anna, "And just how did you find out my name?"

The grin coating his face disturbed her, but the way he slowly looked her up and down before answering the question was far worse, "Let's just say, there is a lot of free time backstage, and certain dressing rooms might not be completely soundproof. You really should be more careful about locking your door, Anna."

Whether he had actually dated her cousin or not didn't matter, she realized, as her brain ran through all of the possible scenarios. The only thing that mattered was that he knew she wasn't Bella Donna and he wanted something from her. Why else would he have come to her instead of going right to Ororo with his discovery? There was only one reason to see her, and she began to worry that she would have to grant whatever request he made. If he attacked her with accusations or threats of telling Ororo all that he knew, then Kitty would be hurt as well. She couldn't let Kitty be injured because she decided to have fun and stupidly kiss Remy in public.

"What do you want, then?" She growled out feeling like the captain of a sinking ship. "We both know you wouldn't be here unless you thought you could get something from me."

"What makes you think I want something?" He stepped even closer to her and tried to place a hand on hers before she yanked it out of his reach, "I am trying to help you, Anna. I can make sure that your cousin never sees that picture and doesn't hear about all of the things you've done."

The comment angered Anna to an even greater degree. How dare he claim that _she_ had done anything but try to retain her cousin's good name in public. _Whatever was left of it_ , she thought in the back of her mind, still feeling betrayed by Belle, after finding out even her own boyfriend hadn't been off limits. She had gone through dance classes, tried to use a new name to separate herself, and had even managed to avoid being talked about badly in the tabloids.

Obviously, it wasn't her best move to use her cousin's appearance. But she wanted to think that she hadn't started out with bad intentions. In fact, she had already decided to give Bella half of her earnings from the tour. It was the most she could think to do without hurting Kitty by quitting the tour. Still, in the far back portion of her mind, where all of her biggest fears ran wild, she was starting to believe that she might be the worst person in this whole situation.

"I don't need any help you could offer," She snarled out and poked him in his chest to drive the point into his head, "Besides, I never did anything to hurt her reputation. _I_ wouldn't do that to her."

"Who do you think she will actually believe?" His carefree tone was lost the moment she poked him, "Me and my picture or the stupid bitch that has been parading around on stage with her name?" He reached out quicker than she expected and grabbed her hat. "If I were you, I'd listen up."

Anna dropped the groceries and tried to fight off his hand as he yanked uncomfortably at her hat. The cover fell to the side and he curled his fingers into her wig to rip it right off of her head. She let out a small cry of pain as the bobby pins pulled at her real hair with painful force. In an effort to stop the motion, since she couldn't manage to pull his hand from her head with his grip so firm, she kicked his right leg with all of her might.

The man let go and stumbled backward a step, before growling out, "You bitch! You know I own you now."

She pulled out a fighting stance she had seen on television once and braced herself as he charged the short distance between them with rage in his eyes. He pulled back his fist and sent it flying forward towards her face. She blocked herself with her arms and waited for the impact. When nothing happened, she moved her cover and found Logan standing right beside her, with the man's fist captured in his own.

"You okay?" He asked her in a gruff voice, and when she nodded a slow yes, he turned back to the man. He gripped the attacking roadie's fist with enough pressure to make the man drop to one knee, "Give me the phone."

"Fine," He shakily held out the device to Logan, who in one swift move, that Anna would have never believed if she hadn't seen it, cracked the screen with his hand.

The man protested as Logan dropped the phone and gave it an extra hard smash with the heel of his boot. He kept his cold eyes trained on the roadie, while he deliberately continued to slowly crush the item with his shoe. The whole scene was hard for Anna to digest, but she was definitely grateful to have Logan show up when he did. Even if he now had knowledge of who she was; at least he cared enough to help her out.

"What th-" The man tried to question Logan's movements, but was stopped when the guard let go of his fist and pulled him up by his collar.

"If you know what is good for you, bub," Logan snarled at the man, showing more emotion than Anna had seen throughout the tour, "You will leave this tour right now. And if I catch you bothering this girl again or showing your worthless ass anywhere near the others, I will make sure you won't be able to bother _anyone_ again. Got it?"

"Okay, okay." He mumbled out with enough fear that Anna questioned how she had ever been even slightly scared of him.

Once Logan had let the boy go and he'd scampered off with the shattered pieces of his cell phone, the big lug picked up her groceries and motioned towards her hotel door. Anna nodded, still in slight shock from what she had watched, and fumbled with her card key. By the fifth time, she was able to open the door and direct Logan into the room. He walked over to her desk and set down the groceries, before turning to watch her try and pull her wig back over her real hair.

"Let it go," He told her bluntly and watched as her shoulder's slumped and she gingerly stripped off the fake hair with a grimace of pain.

"I can explain," She tried to think of something that would sound somewhat intelligent, but had trouble thinking of anything coherent as she watched him look at her real hair.

"How you got those white stripes? Must be quite a story."

"No, I meant that I can explain how I ended up as a pretend Bella."

Logan took a chair from the desk and pulled it in front of Rogue's position at the foot of her bed. He straddled it backward and took a slow breath before she finally seemed to settle down a little. It didn't take an expert on emotions to realize she was running around in circles to try and explain something that he had already put together in his head long ago.

"Cool it, Stripes."

"Aren't you shocked?"

"Nah," He shook his head slowly, "I've known since Grand Rapids."

In the blink of an eye, her mouth dropped open in surprise. She stared at him with such wide, unresponsive eyes that he was starting to think she had passed out. After waving his hand in front of her face, he noticed a small eye blink and her mouth slowly start to close.

"How…"

"Heard you call your boyfriend in the hallway and the scene at the bar confirmed it." He relaxed in the chair and seemed far more at ease than anyone should be in that kind of situation, "You really aren't that hard to find information on. Anna Marie Darkholme, waitress, songwriter, originally from Mississippi."

"That is creepy…"

"And you happen to be Bella Donna's cousin through marriage."

"What did ya do? Write a book?" She snapped as her nerves got the better of her, "Sorry… I just, I wasn't expecting any of this."

"Don't worry about it, Stripes." He noted she didn't protest the nickname, "Just had to make sure you weren't here for some other reason."

"Does needing money to feed and put a roof over a cheatin' boyfriend count as a good reason?" Logan didn't answer the bitter rhetorical question, so she quietly added, "So, now you go and tell Ororo about me being a fake and Kitty and I are out on the curb?"

"No."

"But you have to, don't you? I mean isn't that the whole reason they hired security? To keep out the crazies?"

He chuckled at her comments, "Look, kid, you are doing a good job here and no matter what that jerk said, I can't see any problem with you and Kitty finishing this _one_ tour."

So, Logan realized how much this could affect both of the women? His concern with her and Kitty's welfare made her openly smile. But there was still one thing she couldn't stop thinking about in the back of her head; the photograph. What if the guy had sent it to Bella Donna before approaching her or had another copy somewhere? What was to stop him from pulling out that picture and hurting them all?

"They will find out even if we don't say anything." She added in a soft voice, that made Logan frown, "For all I know, Bella is looking at a picture of me and Remy right at this moment."

"Maybe she is," Logan grunted, surprising Anna with his bluntness, "But what good will sitting on your ass and worrying about that do? There is still a big chance that she has never seen this picture or even met that jerk."

How had she not thought about him being a complete fake? What made his claims sound so real to her? Maybe it was just her fears about being found that made the whole situation so threatening. And it was possible, that Logan had scared him enough that he wouldn't talk to any of the reporters about the story. The more she thought about it, the more Logan's views seemed to make sense. She had been careless, but she still had a chance to go back to the tour if she didn't get distracted by Remy or the roadie's actions.

"But," Logan added, "You should think about telling Gumbo."

She bit her lip and shook her head, "No, I can't tell him something like that."

"Look, I can't tell you I understand much about this junk," He sighed, not wanting to have the conversation, but made himself continue for her sake, and possibly, though much smaller, for the sake of an overly confident Cajun, "But if you think about him anywhere as much as he talks about you," He noted the honest look of disbelief in her bold green eyes, "then, he deserves to know."

She remained silent, as one thought played through her mind, _There actually is something there…_

* * *

 **Well, that chapter was a rough one lol. But it has a place in the story, and we can now move onto the fun parts; A visit from one Mrs. Raven Darkholme.**


	16. Baby Girl

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The X-Men Or Anything Related To The X-Men. I Also Do Not Own The Chapter Title Song 'Baby Girl' By Sugarland Either.**

 **The chapter title song is 'Baby Girl' by Sugarland .**

 **Thank you to everyone who read the previous chapter. I appreciate you guys taking time out of your busy lives to read this chapter. Thanks to the guest reviewer, Coco-Chic, and Jehilew for their reviews.**

 **Here is the newest chapter:**

* * *

Although Anna was not accustomed to the ins and outs of a musical tour, she had been confident that the smartest path would be to travel in straight lines and give only one show per city. Turns out, this tour was not interested in taking the shortest distance between shows or what the least expensive plan may be. Instead, the organizer of the trip had created a nice cinnamon roll pattern across America. After finishing in Mississippi, they were scheduled to go to Tennessee, Kentucky, and then up and to the left. They weren't hitting Florida and the rest of the eastern seaboard until the end run of the tour, which seemed completely baffling to the frugal Anna.

At least, the expensive cinnamon roll had been the plan when they first drove into Mississippi two days before Thanksgiving. A few of the crew members had made last minute plans to fly out on a red-eye flight after the show ended, so they could see their families before hurriedly flying right back to the next show. The rest of the group had decided it was easier to stay put and spend Thanksgiving in Mississippi. It wasn't like most of the state was travel-friendly anyway, thanks to a freak winter storm that had appeared on their first night there.

By the time they opened their window blinds on show day, the streets were completely covered in thick ice and small snow drifts. To the touring group, the snow was mild and something they could easily work around. To the residents of the southern state, it was chaos. Most of the businesses had been shut down and the supermarkets started to run out of even the most basic necessities. Anna and Remy, more so than their native northern companions, understood the panic. The residents didn't really know what to do with this kind of weather. Had it just been the snow alone, Anna was certain Ororo would have kept their show date. But the large dose of ice covering the roads had convinced everyone to agree to postpone the show until another date could be arranged.

Anna and Kitty already had their plans for Thanksgiving day settled, and didn't expect the weather to really put too much of a stop to them. They were scheduled to go and spend the holiday at Anna's family home, with her mother and brother, who had been able to somehow wrangle a week long leave his study abroad program. Anna already knew, and dreaded, that her mother and brother would find some way to corner her and ask about what exactly happened with Cody, but she also knew that she couldn't tell them the whole story.

This time, the young woman was determined to avoid anyone she cared about finding out her secret identity. She had been through enough craziness to last a lifetime and she didn't even want to think what it would be like if her mother and brother saw her in a blonde wig. Instead, she and Kitty had worked out a far more complicated plan to stop at a convenience store and change Bella back into Anna before they drove on to Raven's house.

"Isn't it always supposed to be hot here?" Kitty shivered as she entered Anna's hotel room. She spotted the girl staring lazily out the window as the cars below crept along the icy roads. "The heater isn't even on!"

"Went out about an hour ago." Anna answered distractedly, "Maintenance said it had something to do with the freak weather pattern."

Anna kept her eyes trained on the streets as she watched a taxi pull up to the hotel and deposit Remy and Ororo. The cabby pulled out their two rolling suitcases from the trunk and Ororo seemed to droop her shoulders as if she was disappointed to be back at the hotel instead of flying high above the city. Remy, surprisingly to Rogue, stood casually beside her and didn't seem visibly bothered by their plans being canceled. She hadn't spoken to him too much about his travel plans for Thanksgiving, or anything else for that matter, but the way he seemed to respond so uninterestedly when Jean had given him his plane ticket the other day spoke volumes. After the small portion of his life story she had been given, she figured Remy would have been at least a little interested in returning to Louisiana and seeing the mysterious Jean-Luc.

Despite Logan's rough explanation about Remy's possible feelings and his insistence that she should at least consider talking to Remy about herself, she had done everything but talk to him. Actually, she hadn't even spent much time in the same room as him. It wasn't like he hadn't tried to find a moment to stop and talk to her. Remy seemed to be an expert at finding those small windows where she was alone in line for food or walking back to her room. Each time he stopped by, she had found someway to avoid discussing anything but the weather or show details with him before moving away faster than what seemed normal (even to her). There was too much at stake to risk getting any closer to Remy than she already had.

Anna looked back over to Kitty, still trying to snuggle into her thick coat and play with the buttons on the heater. Anna had been waiting with baited breath for some horrible news to come through their group about the photograph being displayed in a tabloid, and a very, very angry Bella stomping right into the hotel lobby. She had done everything she could think to do to keep on top of the situation; buy armfuls of magazines to check for any articles, keep a close eye on her phone for any message from Bella, and most importantly stay away from Remy. Belle might have slept with her boyfriend, but Anna knew she was not in the clear either. The only thing that seemed to calm her mind, was the idea that if she stayed completely focused on doing a good job in the show and not doing anything else in Bella's name, then maybe, just maybe, the girl would be a little less mad if she found out.

It had turned out to be easier said then done. Remy had been even more flirtatious and focused on her after their kiss at the café in Texas. She couldn't blame him for thinking that she was interested in him. Even Anna knew that she really wanted to feel Remy's strong arms around her and his warm lips against her own again. Still, she continuously tried to duck out of every move he made to get close or attempt to leave them alone in a room together. She was almost certain that Remy was more than confused by her actions based on the way he shook his head and stared at her like she had lost her mind when he thought she wasn't looking. _Maybe I have lost my mind_ , Rogue thought to herself as she walked over to Kitty and remembered that it wasn't only her neck on the line, _but until I can be myself again, I am not doing anything_.

"Are you packed?" Kitty asked through a shiver and watched the girl put her coat on slower than a snail, "Anna, is something bothering you?"

"No." She answered as her brain cried, _I actually miss talking to Remy (among other things), I never told you about a photograph that could destroy us, and of course, Bella is going to kill me once she sees, said photograph._

"You sure?" Kitty picked up the girl's overnight bag and handed it to her, "I mean, you seemed like you were doing good back in Texas, but then you just kind of, well… its like you don't do anything but sing and sleep now. You haven't even smiled in days."

"Just getting tired. I mean we have done how many shows now?"

Kitty frowned, not liking or believing the answer given to her so callously. She knew that Rogue was a determined woman and put her whole self into a project, but this was starting to seem like a ridiculous, if not unhealthy, amount of focus. How could walking around like a zombie help her become a better performer? What Kitty figured, though she had no proof, is that something had happened between Rogue and Remy.

She thought Anna would have thanked her when she got back to the hotel, for telling Remy what store she had gone to. Wasn't it apparent to everyone that there was something building between the two? But instead of a happy and giddy Anna greeting Kitty, the girl that had come back that night was a completely different person. Suddenly, she wouldn't talk to Remy or even Kitty. Although Anna had never been a real chatterbox, she had always been willing to talk a little or joke around with her friend. Now it was a few distracted head nods and a quick, 'sure' if she actually got Anna's attention.

"You know," Kitty added as they walked down the hall with bags in hand, "If something is up, you can tell me. I mean, we are a team, remember? All for one and one for all."

"Good motto, petit." Remy's voice filtered into their conversation as they reached the elevators. "Where are you two belle femmes off to?"

Rogue clutched the strap of her overnight bag tightly and tried to avoid looking at his eyes any more than she had to. Instead, she noted how nicely his maroon sweater covered his muscular chest and the way his black pants stretched along his long legs. Remy chuckled at her distracted expression, forcing Rogue to look back up to his face. His lightly tanned cheeks still had a pink blush from the cold winds of a rare Mississippi freeze, but the look in his eyes melted any thoughts of winter in her head.

"Aren't you supposed to be on a plane?" Kitty countered, knowing they couldn't tell him where they were going without having to make some convoluted story. "I thought you and Ororo had already left for the airport?"

"All the flights are canceled," Remy shrugged his shoulders and kept taking obvious glances at Rogue's face, "Looks like we are stuck together for the holiday after all. Nice change, eh, Chere? Remy wouldn't mind having a candlelight dinner with you."

"You will have to have that one with someone else, Remy." Rogue walked past him a few feet and pushed the elevator button, "We have plans."

"So, Remy go with you." He grinned widely and placed a hand above her head on the wall, "We can celebrate with petit and then venture off for a little alone time, non?"

"No." She answered flatly and held an arm across the elevator door so Kitty could step inside. Remy took the bag that had slid down Anna's arm and walked into the elevator with Kitty. The smirk on his face seemed to tell her everything he was thinking. She'd get mad, demand her bag, he would hold it away claiming some silly thing about helping her, and she would get suckered into riding the elevator fifteen floors with him. She wasn't going to fall for that familiar strategy again. Little did he realize how determined she was to keep everything calm and uneventful between them.

"Thanks for taking the bag." She spoke up easily and spotted the look of surprise on his face as she stepped back and let him and Kitty ride down by themselves.

After taking a separate elevator down, she searched the lobby for any sign of Remy and Kitty. The sign above their elevator had a large number five, alerting her to the fact the others were stuck for at least a few minutes to accommodate other hotel guests. It was a blessing in disguise as far as Anna knew, because it left her with a moment to think of what to say to Remy. The girls had already agreed that if they couldn't avoid talking about it, they would just tell people that they were going to see Belle's aunt. It was simple and easy enough to convince most people to get off of their backs, but Remy was not most people.

Anna sighed and left the elevators to take a seat on one of the many couches in the lobby. With the building's heat on the fritz and the temperature dropping, the entire place was filled with angry customers whose tempers were not cooled off in the slightest by the chilly breeze sneaking past the revolving doors. Anna couldn't blame them for being mad about their predicament, but at least the building hadn't lost power. The last time she had ever seen it freeze in the state, they had lost power for a few days.

"Belle?"

The voice forced Anna to snap out of her musings instantly and turn her head with a great deal of fear. She knew the sound of that voice better than she knew any other. And as her eyes took sight of the tall, slender woman watching her with brown eyes so light they almost seemed a dirty blonde color, she actually gulped. This was the one thing she had been dreading more than Remy ripping off her wig or finding a furious Bella Donna waiting for her in a dark alley. No, this was much worse than any possible outcome; this was her mother.

" _Oh_ , this one has got to be a good story."

Raven Darkholme, had known Anna since she was an eight-year-old ball of anxiety and stubbornness. The girl had been dropped off at her house with a folder bigger than any Raven had seen before with at least three major warning labels; Troublemaker, Volatile, and Violent. Even one was usually enough to get a foster kid banned from a large amount of homes, and the black-eyed, split lip Anna had already been bounced through at least five homes.

Raven had fostered other kids before, but there had been something about Anna that was special. It had only taken a week together for Raven and her son to both agree that they wanted Anna Marie to be a part of their forever family. It hadn't been perfect, far from it actually. It had taken a lot of work and effort to reach the scared and defensive Anna and create a peaceful family environment, but Raven never regretted it the hard work for a single moment.

"Hi, mama. What… uh, what are you doing here?" Anna stumbled over her words and tried to keep her eyes on the elevator and her mother.

"I came to drive you and Kitty to the house." She eyed the blonde woman up and down before adding, "Feel like telling me why you are dressed like that?"

"We were going to take a taxi." Anna skipped the question and barely looked at her mother's face since the elevator sign now said Remy and Kitty were on the second floor. "You didn't have to come all this way."

Raven raised a quizzical eyebrow and stared at her nervous daughter. She couldn't get past the strangeness of seeing Anna with blonde hair. It wasn't hideous or poorly maintained, but it just looked so weird not to see the beautiful waves of brown she associated with her daughter. Even Anna's clothes seemed to be far too altered for her daughter. Anna would never have worn pants with that much bling on them. Whatever the reason she was playing Belle at the moment, she had at least done a good job of looking the part.

"You missed the question," She was not going to let her avoid the issue, no matter how much Anna wanted to. She reached out to tap the girl's arm and gently pull Rogue's attention back to her face, "Why are you dressed like Bella?"

"Well, I…" Anna stumbled through multiple thoughts as fast as she could and was not able to come up with something to please her mother's question. As long as Kitty and her bag were stuck in the elevator she couldn't leave. But maybe, just maybe, she could make Raven leave the room. "Look, I promise I will tell you everything. But please could you step outside or wait over there until Kitty gets here? Please, mama."

The elevator dinged to announce the arrival of Kitty and Remy and Anna's heart sank. She turned her head to the duo as they walked out with matching smiles on their faces. Despite their multiple stops, they seemed to be having fun just talking and shooting the breeze. If only they knew what was waiting once they spotted the scared looking Rogue only feet away.

"Please," Anna begged her mother as Remy spotted her and started walking right over, "Please, play along."

Remy smiled brightly at Rogue and Raven in turn but kept his eyes trained on every move Anna's face made. She figured he could sense that her heart was beating a hundred miles an hour, but hoped he would think it was just because of his charms and not the real reason. Kitty, who shuffled over slower than Remy, had already mouthed to Rogue a few shocked questions. She seemed just as nervous as Anna when she joined the group, which was fitting since Raven was already giving Kitty the same I-know-you-are-up-to-something motherly stare.

"Bonjour," Remy greeted the new woman when neither of the younger women offered an introduction, "I am Remy LeBeau. And who," He took Raven's hand and offered it a kiss, knowing most women seemed to find that move irresistible, "are you?"

"Aren't you smooth," Raven laughed softly, noting the groan that came out of Anna, "I am Raven Darkholme. Bella Donna's _aunt_."

While part of Anna was happy to see her mother was willing to play along with the game, she also knew better than to think this was anywhere close to over. The moment Raven had her and Kitty alone; it would be a whole different story. She would want all the details (absolutely every, single one), and would probably do that strange thing only mothers could; give them the look of disappointment. Anna understood screaming and she understood fighting, but she could not even begin to comprehend how Raven could turn her world upside down with one well-placed stare.

 _At least_ , she figured as Raven and Remy began to chat happily, _it cannot possibly get any worse_.

"Your flight was canceled too, Remy?" Jean's voice drifted down to the lobby as she, Scott, Nathan, and Ororo walked to the group.

 _All right_ , Rogue groaned outwardly and sat down in a chair as Raven once again introduced herself as Bella's aunt, _now the whole mess is complete_.

"The weather has been growing worse," Raven explained to Jean as they all discussed their canceled travel plans, "So I came to pick up the girls myself instead of leaving them to a taxi driver who hasn't seen snow in his life. We are having a small Thanksgiving meal at my house. You know,"

 _She wouldn't dare!_

" _Aunt_ Raven," Rogue broke into the conversation and stood back up, "I am sure they have backup plans that would be a lot more fun than spending Thanksgiving with us."

"What a good idea!" Raven seemed to be enjoying the look of dread on Rogue's face more than anyone but her daughter, and possibly Kitty, could realize, "I was just going to say that you know the weather should be safe for flights tomorrow. But that is a wonderful idea, _Bella_."

Jean tried to politely decline the offer, which Anna figured had to do with the outlandish way she and Raven were acting. Despite their names never slipping and the conversation having a normal flow, it seemed obvious to at least a few members of the group that something was up. She looked at Remy, figuring he somehow already knew everything after piecing together the bizarre line of clues, to find him smiling and trying to convince Ororo to take Raven's offer.

"We can't force them to go-" Rogue was cut off from a desperate last attempt to stop this madness when the lights went out in the hotel.

The angry guests at the front counter gasped and started a new storm of complaints at the poor hotel manager. Raven ignored the surprise and typed something on her phone with the same casual manner. Nathan whimpered in the darkness so Jean picked him up, while the boys dug out their phones and turned on the flashlight feature to give the semi-dark room a little more light.

"Well," Raven put her phone away and smiled at the group, "I think that settles it. There is still power at my house so you will all come over and have Thanksgiving dinner with me and my _niece_."

Anna moaned as the words left Raven's mouth and started to mentally pray for enough strength to make it through her family and Remy's group.


	17. I'm Not That Girl

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The X-Men Or Anything Related To The X-Men. I Do Not Own The Chapter Title Song 'I'm Not That Girl' Performed By Idina Menzel From The Musical Wicked.**

 **The chapter title song is 'I'm Not That Girl' by Idina Menzel from the musical Wicked. It is a pretty good show if you get the chance to see it on the stage.**

 **Thank you to everyone who read the previous chapter. I appreciate you guys and gals taking time out of your busy days to read this new chapter. Thanks again and here is the newest chapter:**

* * *

Through the entire car ride to Raven's house, Rogue texted madly away on her phone. Despite the fact, she knew her mother was taking the time to discuss all sorts of different things with Remy situated in the front passenger seat. It was dangerous to leave them alone to talk, but it was also pretty unhealthy not to spend the last moments she had to make sure this didn't end in disaster. Kurt Darkholme, her confused and jet-lagged younger brother, hadn't been too receptive to her constant texts of, ' _Take down all the photos of Belle and me!_ ' So far, she had gotten something that looked like he sat on his phone's keyboard and another text that simply said, ' _Why?_ ' in reply.

It wasn't like Anna, Remy, and Raven were alone in the vehicle. Somehow, they had managed to stuff nine people inside, including a grumpy Logan who was currently taking up the back cargo area. He hadn't said anything, but when Ororo called him to the lobby and requested he accompany them to Rogue's aunt's home, he had spared a somewhat aggravated look at the fake blonde. She didn't want this mess any more than the guard did, but what could she do now? Raven had made a plan and that was something she had been fighting and losing against since she was a kid.

As they pulled into the long driveway to Raven's home, the noisy group settled into silence and focused their attention on the house. The structure wasn't elaborate like some of the homes they had passed along the way, but it was beautiful and cozy looking. Warm earth tones decorated the walls of the two-story building, while the roof was coated with a layer of dark colored shingles. Smoke was already wafting from the tall brick chimney, bringing smiles out of a few of the colder car occupants.

Desperate to see if her brother had taken her advice, Rogue bailed out of the vehicle before it came to a full stop. She shouted back something about checking on Kurt but doubted if any of them had been able to comprehend the mumbled statement. There was no time to worry about how odd she looked; she had a much bigger goal at hand. Besides the photographs, that seemed a glaring sign in her overactive mind, she also had to make sure Kurt didn't ruin the whole thing by calling her Anna.

"I got the fire going like you wante-" Kurt paused and stood up from the hearth as his eyes caught sight of just who had entered the home. At first glance, he thought he had seen Bella, but after staring at the woman currently panting and studying the room with big, nervous eyes, he realized it was his sister, "What the…"

"Playing Bella." She huffed and tried to catch her breath, "Don't tell anyone…. I'm Anna." She finally regained her normal breathing capabilities and took a step towards him, "Did you get the photos?"

"Yeah," He pointed at the box of photographs sitting on the couch, but didn't let his eyes leave the strange wig, "If this is such a secret, why did you want me to bring them down from the attic anyway?"

"What?!" Anna panicked again and raced over to the box. Raven was known to collect a lot of images of her family. So many, in fact, that she had put the boxes of pictures not displayed all over the walls in storage upstairs. "I told you to hide them, not bring down more!"

"No," Kurt fished his phone out of his pocket and held up the screen to her face. "See, it says, ' _Take all the photos of Belle and me!'"_

"Take _down_!" Anna groaned and started throwing pictures from the coffee table and walls into the box like a maniac, " _Take down_ the photos."

Kurt shook his head, unable to keep up with the insanity of this predicament. When his mother had texted him to check on the power at their house and to give him a heads up that they would have more company for dinner, he hadn't thought it was too big of a deal. It wasn't completely out of the ordinary for Raven's past foster kids to spend a holiday with them from time to time. Despite the fact, she had stopped fostering after adopting Anna, she still had a large amount of past kids who had come back to show her how successful they were in whatever career they picked. The last thing he expected when his mom texted, was Anna in a wig and the parade of random people who were currently traipsing into the large living room.

"Where is Bella?" Raven asked him with such ease, that he started to doubt whether or not he had actually seen a blonde Anna.

"Uh," A large thud could be heard upstairs followed by a small grunt of pain, "She went upstairs to do something."

By the time Anna rejoined the group downstairs, Kitty had already been attacked for any information she could give on the subject. Anna passed her in the hallway to the kitchen and immediately noted the dazed look coating her face as she stumbled into the living room with a tray of appetizers. She felt bad that Kitty had been grabbed by Raven's unavoidable mother stare, but she couldn't spend time comforting her friend since she heard Remy and Raven's laughter just past the swinging kitchen door.

When she entered the room, the first thing she noticed was the smell. Raven was a good cook, but she wasn't known to produce smells as amazing as the one currently coating the entire space. No, the person making that turkey smell like anything more than cooked meat was one Remy LeBeau. He stood next to Raven, as if they had known each other for ages, and babbled on about various seasonings that would spice up her dinner.

Raven laughed at some comment Remy made and gave him one of her best sarcastic expressions. The natural flow between them seemed somewhat inviting. Anna almost forgot her fears as she felt the urge to go over and join the duo in their cooking party grow in her mind.

"So she went all they way to the Space Needle and just had water?"

The comforting mood shifted as Rogue picked up on their conversation. Were they talking about her? _Of course, they were talking about her_. Kitty had been pumped for information and Anna had been hiding upstairs as long as she could. Her mother was dividing and conquering the targets most likely to have something interesting to say, and waiting for the whole story to develop. Raven Darkholme was smooth; Anna had to give her that.

"Nice of you to join us, Chere." Remy smiled at her as she approached and held out a spoon of something to her.

"Yes," Raven smiled at her a little too largely and crossed her arms, "We were beginning to think you were never coming down."

Anna tried to remain calm, but she couldn't shake the realization that her mother would go in for the kill the moment Remy left their side. She took the wooden spoon from him, to give herself something to do besides talk, and tasted the sauce. Instantly, she dropped the spoon and started to cough as the spices raced through her mouth and down her throat. Remy caught the spoon easily and tossed her a piece of bread from the open package on the counter with a deep chuckle.

"What is that?" Anna wheezed out and bit into the bread to try and cool down her mouth.

"Spiced up your aunt's gravy," Remy told her with a smirk as she tried to avoid fanning her flushed face. "A little too spicy for you, Chere?"

She detested the look of glee on his face as he watched her sweat out the various spices, "Funny, Cajun. Real funny. You plannin' on feeding that stuff to a little kid like Nathan?"

"Sure," He grinned as she stared at him in surprise, "Big Nate practically ate half of my pot of spicy gumbo by himself last year."

Remy leaned his face closer to Rogue's and whispered between just the two of them, "Remy always figured you would be attracted to the _spicy_ things of life after your display at the cafe, Chere."

She frowned at him and furrowed her eyebrows, even more, when he seemed to enjoy her angry expression. How could he think of saying something like that in front of her mother? Did he honestly think that Raven wouldn't know what he was hinting at if she heard them?

What was she saying? Of course, Raven heard them; her mother heard everything. Then again, as she looked back to Raven standing beside the oven, she noticed that the woman was smirking in amusement.

"Unca Remy!" Nathan's voice called out through the door, "Come play with us!"

Remy smiled at the women and excused himself, without noticing the look of fear creeping onto Rogue's face. When they were left alone in the kitchen, the women avoided looking at each other. Instead of letting her daughter breathe again and accept whatever lecture she had planned, Raven stirred her pot of mixed vegetables in silence. Anna watched her with nervous eyes and wondered if her mother understood how much worse it was to wait in silence than to be yelled at.

"Mama," Anna pulled herself together and faced her mother, "I never meant for this all to become so… messy…" She sighed and rubbed her forehead as Raven's eyes finally met her pair, "It was only supposed to be a one-night thing, and then I went on television, and the next thing I knew-"

"Remy was in love with the fake Bella Donna?"

The container of salt Anna had picked up to try and help with at least some of the cooking, clattered to the tile floor as the words met her ears, "Wha…What?"

Raven let go of her spoon and turned to fully face her daughter. She wasn't happy with this charade. Actually, she was extremely displeased with everything Kitty and Anna had been doing for much more than just the reason Anna was pretending to be someone she was not. She knew, just from the information that she had gotten out of Kitty, that there was a very big chance that some, if not all, of the people involved in this, were going to get hurt.

Talking with Remy had done nothing more than cement the idea in Raven's head that they were heading down a very difficult path. All the tall, handsome young man had been chatting about was the woman he sincerely believed was Bella Donna. Despite his smooth questions and the way he avoided telling her too much information out right, she could practically sense the feelings he had for her daughter. The display in the kitchen was all the physical proof she had, but it was enough. Remy was in deeper than she figured even he realized, and she worried that Anna was following right behind him.

"I think you know exactly what I am talking about Anna Marie."

 _Middle name… that is never a good sign_ , she thought. Still, she tried to pretend she had no idea what her mother was getting at, "Remy is just a flirt. He pulls stunts like that all the time, mama."

"Anna," she sighed and shook her head at her daughter's frustrating refusal to accept the obvious, "No flirt… no man, for that matter, would spend two hours straight talking and asking questions about one woman if she didn't mean _something_ to him. I can't tell you that I approve of this," She paused and gave her daughter a firm stare, "In fact, I do not agree with any of this. But you are a grown woman, and I can't make you stop this charade, no matter how much I want to."

"It is only for the rest of the tour. After that, the wigs go in the trash and I cut all ties with 'The Gambit' and everything."

"Including Remy?"

"Well," Anna paused feeling a strange pain race through her veins and stab at her heart.

Memories of his kiss and the way she seemed to fit so nicely by his side began to run through her mind. Remy was handsome, and thoughtful, and funny, and… and, she loved him. Well, it felt something like what she thought love felt like. Unlike the calm and reliable feeling she had always associated with Cody, this one felt more fluttery and far more exciting. She placed a hand over her stomach, as her whole body seemed to tingle at the thought of leaning back in Remy's arms.

"Yes," She finally admitted and looked away from her mother, not wanting her to have the chance to read her confused eyes. She may have felt something for Remy, but he didn't like her, not the real her at least. He loved a girl with golden hair and she wasn't that girl.

Raven sighed, not liking the answers she was being given. She believed that her daughter would be more than willing to run for the hills the moment she could. But Raven wasn't completely sure that was the best idea. Despite the problems, Remy did to actually care about her and she him. There was no guarantee, but she wondered if Anna backed out from the tour now and told him who she actually was if they could become something. It wasn't as if a chance to find love came knocking on your door every day. Still, it would never work, of that much, she was certain if Anna didn't woman up and tell him who she was.

"Do you like him?" She asked her daughter bluntly and watched her with eyes that had always been able to read the younger woman's expressions.

"I…" Anna sucked in a slow breath and figured there was no point in hiding it from Raven, "I do. It is stupid and I am an idiot for even thinking about Remy LeBeau as anything but a singer, but I do."

Raven nodded her head and walked back to the cabinets beside the sink. Anna watched in silence as her mother pulled out a few plates and set them on the counter. When the woman started pulling out glasses and still remained silent, her daughter took a step forward and touched her arm, "Well? Aren't you going to say something?"

"What do you want me to say?" Raven asked as she turned to face her daughter, knowing full well she could talk till she lost her voice but it wouldn't matter. Rogue had to make this choice for herself.

"Anything. I mean, can't you… can't you tell me what to do?"

"Yes," Raven placed the plates in her hands, "What you can do, is set the table for dinner."

Anna groaned and plodded over to the table, knowing her mother was only starting this edition of, 'Make Anna jump through hoops until she admits she made a mistake'.


	18. You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The X-Men Or Anything Related To The X-Men. I Do Not Own The Chapter Title Song 'You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This' By 'Toby Keith' Either.**

 **The Chapter Title Song Is 'You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This' By Toby Keith.**

 **Thank you to everyone who read the previous chapter. I appreciate you guys and gals taking time out of your busy lives to read this story. Big thanks to Mrs. Jehilew for her lovely reviews and to all the lovely reviewers. Thanks again for reading and here is the newest chapter:**

* * *

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious and filling, surprising on both counts since it had originally been intended to feed a group of four not nine. The math associated with cooking and meal planning didn't make any sense to Anna, so she was impressed by the way things seemed to work out. Thankfully, Raven was known to overcook normal meals, so she hadn't been worried at all about her guests walking away from the table still hungry.

"I can't see how you guys could like eat that gravy." Kitty sighed as the men at the table passed around the empty bowl in hopes they could find a small amount stuck to the sides of the container, "Way too spicy for me."

"Really?" Kurt, piped up from the other side of Kitty while placing his used silverware on his plate in preparation for clearing the table, "Seemed pretty tasty to me. Who made it anyway?"

"Moi." Remy smiled at the boy but noted the flash of strangeness in his eyes when Kurt spotted Remy's arm resting on the back of Rogue's chair. "Glad ya liked it."

He hadn't been completely unaware how strange this whole encounter with Bella Donna's family had been. Raven and Kurt had been pleasant enough, more so the former, but they seemed distracted by something. Kurt had been sending him small, distrusting looks whenever he got closer to Rogue. Seemed strange for a cousin to do anything like that in his opinion, but Rogue had been overly concerned for her cousins, so maybe the whole family was far tighter than most. Speaking of her cousin, though…

"You know," he turned his head to look at Rogue as she sipped the last of her water, "Thought we might get to meet your mysterious songwriting cousin today."

"Oh," Raven spoke up when Anna almost choked on her water, "that Anna has always been the type to get trapped in a project." She couldn't say that teasing her daughter didn't have the tiniest bit of enjoyment, but she wasn't going to push too far on the topic, "She is probably busy working on _something_ at this very moment."

"Yeah." Anna finally coughed out and gave her mom a semi-stern look, "I'm sure you will get to talk to her sooner or later, though, _Aunt_ Raven."

"Thank you," Ororo broke into the conversation as she sensed the pair was starting to drift back to their bizarre conversational flows, "for a lovely dinner, Raven. Please, allow us to help with the cleanup."

"Oh no, that won't be necessary," Raven shook her head and gestured to Rogue and Kitty, "The girls already volunteered to wash the dishes and the pots and pans. Right girls?"

The two shared a knowing stare and figured washing dishes would be quick enough, and it might help convince Raven to give them a break from future lectures on the topic of pretending to be a celebrity. They stood up and began to gather the plates without a word of opposition, but Remy was up on his feet just as quickly in an attempt to take the large stack of dishes out of Kitty's arms.

The small woman looked briefly towards Rogue busily picking up an empty platter before disappearing into the kitchen, and figured it couldn't hurt to let Remy help. She was still anxiously waiting to see the pictures of Kurt's recent trip to London. Besides, this gave the two southerners more alone time.

Inside the kitchen, Rogue had already filled half of the double sink with warm water. She submerged her arms and busily scrubbed a few of the fancier kitchenware pieces that couldn't go in the dishwasher. When she heard the door to the kitchen swing open and shut, she told Kitty to start stacking the plates on the left side of the counter.

Kitty didn't say anything in response, but the plates were set gently on the counter before a warm body slipped behind her. She paused in mid-scrub and snapped back to the moment at hand. Anna recognized the earthy smell surrounding her instantly, as well as the feeling of a warm breath on the back of her neck. It was comfortable, exciting, and terrifying enough to make her shoulders suddenly rise in surprise.

"You wash and Remy dry, hm?" He asked her in that deep voice then rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I… uh," She felt like a babbling fool trying to think of something to say.

"Washin' dishes always get you this flustered?" He chuckled while wrapping his arms around her middle.

"What? No. You think you're just _so_ irresistible don't y- Ow."

Remy dropped his arms and watched her pull her hand out of the water. She cradled her right hand close to her chest and seemed to be mumbling some colorful words under her breath. He reached out and pulled the hand away from her chest, to see a small, deep cut on her index fingertip.

"It's nothin', Remy."

She pulled her hand back from him and tried to ignore how idiotic it felt to cut herself washing a knife. She had washed the dishes practically every night in her youth and she often washed more dishes than she could count when the bus boys were unavailable at the diner. What was it about Remy's warm arms that made her coordination go flying out the window?

"You're bleedin' Chere." He furrowed his brows and tried to take her wrist back so he could get a better look at the cut.

"And I can handle it, Remy." She pulled a paper towel off of the roll above the sink and held it against her finger. The last thing she wanted was for him to keep watching her with those big crimson eyes. "I'm a big girl, remember?"

"Bella," He scrunched his face into something she almost thought looked like concern for her well-being, "Stop rambling for a moment and let me help you." She watched his eyes for a moment, while her own drifted through a few possible rebuttals, before she sighed in defeat, "Good. Now, where ya keep the first aid kit?"

As they entered the upstairs bathroom, Anna flipped the light switch and immediately started to wash her sliced finger. Remy, took the moment to try and search the top shelves of the bathroom cabinet for the first aid kit. In a final attempt to stop the multiple times they bumped into each other in the small space, Anna sat on the edge of the counter and pressed a tissue to the still bleeding wound.

"Alright," Remy pulled the kit out and smiled at his patient, "Dr. LeBeau is ready to see his lovely patient."

"Doctor?" She laughed and tried to ignore the way he boldly stood between her knees, "I would have given you hospital volunteer, _maybe_."

"Volunteer?" He scoffed and held her hand gingerly as he applied some disinfecting product to the wound, "Volunteer my ass." The man added with a wink, "Remy be a specialist."

"A specialist? In what exactly?"

He grinned that crooked little smile causing her heart to jump a beat, "Give me a moment and I be glad to show you all Remy knows about the human body."

With the Band-Aid applied to her injured finger, he leaned forward and stared directly into her green eyes. It was hard; actually, it was impossible to ignore how close he was standing to her. She felt the warmth of his rough hands holding her own and almost thought she could feel a heat exuding from his entire body. Suddenly, her throat felt dry and she couldn't seem to focus on anything besides the way his eyes watched her so closely.

"Is," She cleared her throat, feeling a warm blush growing across her cheeks, "Is that all it takes, Cajun? A moment? Doesn't seem like I'd be missing much then."

"Need proof that we could have fun, eh?"

He wasn't going to back down. She had almost thought the sarcastic comment would have somehow pulled him out of this and given her a chance to breathe again. But there he stood, about as close as he could physically be, with that smug smile coating his chiseled features. He was enjoying this far too much to step back now, and, unfortunately, she was starting to feel the same amount of exhilaration at the sight of his smile.

"Remy," She mumbled his name in a whisper as he closed the last few inches between them and kissed her lips delicately.

She had never felt such an emotional tug-of-war in her life, before meeting Remy LeBeau. The intelligent side of her brain warned her to run away from everything; Remy, the tour, even her family. The list of ways this was wrong and could only end in tragedy was longer than anyone could realize. But, of course, the rest of her brain was shouting just as hard to shut up and kiss the handsome man standing in front of her.

As he kissed her with growing force, she couldn't stop her own hands from reaching out and jerking the front of his shirt towards her. There wasn't much closer he could get, but he wrapped his own arms around her in response and smirked against her lips when she kissed him back with as much, if not more, force. His lips left her warm pair for a moment to catch a breath of air and then moved back towards her neck. As the kisses continued, she could feel her head beginning to swim.

The small opposition that had been shouting through her mind to run away began to fade into the distance with all of her other fears. She wanted to be near him and he wanted to be near her. Was it really so bad to just forget all of the problems for just a momen-

"Uh, Bella?"

The moment her brother's voice filtered through the closed door, she fell back to the real world with shattering intensity. Her hands let go of Remy's shirt and she instantly tried to jump to her feet. The movement was awkward and surprised Remy enough, that he stumbled backward into the wall with Rogue clutched in his arms. He held her tightly against his chest and tried to keep her from slipping from his grasp and falling to the floor.

"Bella? You okay?" Kurt's voice repeated louder, with more concern, "What was that noise?"

"I, uh," Anna tried to untangle herself from Remy's arms and legs, "I'm fine Kurt. Just cut my finger on a knife and dropped the first aid kit."

"Okay," She could feel the worry in his voice and could picture him standing outside the door with both of his dark eyebrows scrunched into a look of concern. "Mom wanted me to tell you that you can forget the dishes for awhile. She wants me to show the pictures of my trips in Europe to the group."

"Great." She added, bouncing between the disappointment of leaving Remy's embrace and the quick remembrance of her past fears. "W-" She bit her lip hard for almost making such a stupid mistake, " _I'll_ be down in a minute."

Once his footfalls left her earshot, she let out a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding. She wanted to think it was just the idea of her brother catching her kissing anyone in a bathroom that made her so jumpy. It was definitely a situation she wanted to avoid. But, as she looked back to the grinning Cajun, she couldn't avoid the realization that being caught kissing Remy was far worse than a random guy. How stupid could she be to tell her mother she was going to run away, and then fall right back into his waiting arms?

"You look pretty pale, Chere." Remy's voice still had that strange level of care in the tone, as he made no move to let go of her or unwrap their legs from each other.

"I just," She tried to look at anything but his face as she pulled herself out of his arms and stared at their reflections in the big mirror. The image of his crooked grin and the pinkness of her neck made her feel even worse. "I need some ai-"

Just as it had at the hotel hours earlier, the lights in the house suddenly went out. Rogue and Remy froze in the bathroom and listened to the speedy shouts and sounds of something being knocked over drift up the stairs. Remy pulled out his cell phone and turned on the flashlight feature to lead her back to the stairwell.

The living room was in a state of semi-controlled chaos as they walked into the room. Jean and a crying Nathan sat on the largest couch while the others lit various candles and camping lanterns to give the room a nice glow. Raven had her own battery-powered radio on the fireplace mantel and was turning the dial to the local stations for any news on the weather. The moment she got a station talking about the weather, she turned up the volume and hushed the others in the room.

"Well," She sighed as the weather man finished giving the details of the newest round of ice currently heading their way, "It looks like you might be stuck here for the night."

"Don't have a bed here." Nathan sniffled worriedly from his spot on Jean's lap.

"Yes, you don't have a bed here." Raven smiled at the boy and tried to show him there was nothing to be scared of, "But we have plenty of pillows and blankets for everyone to use right down here in the living room."

Jean, knowing full well that the warmest place would be in front of the fireplace, agreed with Raven, "It will be just like the camping trip we took this summer, honey."

The idea of an indoor camping party cheered the boy up right away. He smiled brightly at Raven and even offered to help Kurt bring down some of the blankets from the linen closet upstairs. Raven watched the two march off with a smile and then turned her attention to Anna. It hadn't escaped her attention that Remy and her daughter had been missing for the past few minutes. Part of her wanted to think that Anna had taken the time to tell him something important, but the way he hovered behind Anna and the small, telltale red marks on the base of her daughter's neck painted a different story.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Kurt asked as he and Nathan came back downstairs with the first round of blankets. "I can't show my pictures without power."

"Well, we could always do what we used to do at family get-togethers."

Anna groaned at the mere mention of past family events. She liked being a part of a real family, but there were some things she could have lived without.

"What is that?" Ororo asked from her spot next to Logan on the love seat.

"It was just some silly thing we did a long time ago." Anna took the question before her mother could add anything, "Really, nobody would have fun."

"The talent show thing?" Kurt missed the attempt to veto the idea as he handed a blanket to Kitty.

"Exactly." Raven smiled mischievously at her daughter and turned her attention back to the group, "The kids always used to perform a little show when we all got together for various holidays."

"Show!" Nathan repeated happily and began pestering both of his parents in hopes they would agree to the talent show idea.

"Well, it could be fun." Scott relented as Nathan smiled at him. "It isn't like we have anything else to do during the evening."

"You really don't have to." Anna tried in vain to stop what she was sure would end badly for all involved. "We can think of something else to do."

"Non," Remy grinned at her and seemed to be enjoying the nervous energy exuding from Anna, "Could be fun. What you used to do in those shows anyway, Chere?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." She refused to answer the question and tried to shuffle back towards the safety of the kitchen.

"Bella used to sing the same song every year with Anna." Raven walked over to her daughter with the same mischievous smile, "You know Remy, maybe you two could perform that song together since Anna is not here."

 _Is she really doing this to me_? Anna thought with an internal groan, "Aunt Raven, I doubt he would want to do that. I mean, Remy probably doesn't even know the song."

"What song is it?" He asked with his interest more than peaked.

"'Anything you can do, I can do better'." Anna relented in the softest grumble of embarrassment, "From the 'Annie get your gun' show…"

"Actually," Remy laughed softly, "Had to do that at a party once. Sounds like we have a duet, Chere."

The mood around the room seemed to brighten as the others began to chat happily about what they could possibly contribute to the makeshift talent show. Remy seemed interested in talking about their song, but Anna brushed him off to follow the _hostess with the mostess_ into the kitchen. Apparently, the show just wouldn't be complete without snacks.

"Has anyone told you that you are one vindictively cruel woman?" She protested, as Raven took advantage of an extra set of arms and started handing Anna ingredients for smores.

"Can't say they have." Raven responded coolly and handed Anna the box of graham crackers before she studied Anna's face, "But, I can say," She reached out and adjusted the neck area of her daughter's sweater to hide the hickeys a little better, "that I was told to hide a hickey before walking up to my mother and coworkers."

The look of guilt and embarrassment crossed Rogue's face quickly, "Touché."


	19. Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The X-Men Or Anything Related To The X-Men. I Also Do Not Own The Chapter Title Song, 'Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)' Performed By Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat From The Musical 'Annie Get Your Gun' Either.**

 **The Chapter Title Song Is 'Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)' Performed By Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat From The Musical 'Annie Get Your Gun'. It Is A Pretty Interesting Duet. Some Of The Performances Of This Song Are Rather Funny.**

 **Thank you guys and gals for reading the previous chapters. I appreciate you guys and gals taking time out of your busy lives to look at and read this story. A big thank you goes to the sassy and sweet Mrs. Jehilew for looking it over and helping me change parts around. You might enjoy listening to the song to get an idea what Remy and Rogue are singing. Thank you to Coco-Chic, Jehilew, and TheRealTayler13 for the lovely reviews.**

* * *

Two hours after Raven and Anna reentered the room with supplies to make a last minute dessert, the night's entertainment began. It was surprising to most of the group that the whole thing didn't go as horrendously as the blonde predicted it would. Most, besides Anna nervously chewing on her lip and Logan who seemed generally annoyed with the entire predicament, were already smiling and applauding whoever was brave enough to step in front of the crowd.

The first to give it a shot was Jean and Scott. The pair fumbled through a scene they had once performed in a high school drama class. It was rough, to say the least, and filled with small moments of laughter when they messed up a line, but the two seemed happy to be doing something together. The embarrassment most people would face in that situation just seemed to wash past them. They were having too much fun trying something silly together to care what the crowd thought.

Nathan applauded louder for his mom and dad than anyone else in the room as they took their quick bows and sat back down on the couch. The moment the stage was free, he grabbed Kurt's hand and tried to drag the young man to the stage. Nathan adored his uncle Remy, but he had somehow found a new best friend in Kurt. Anna was almost certain the interest in her brother was only fueled by the simple magic tricks Kurt had shown the boy. Kurt had been quite a magic nerd in their youth and still had a few tricks up his sleeve.

"Now ladies and gentlemen," Kurt started as he pulled up his sleeves, "Nothing up my sleeves and this is an ordinary newspaper. Assistant Nathan, is it a normal newspaper?"

Nathan stared at the paper with such intense concentration a few of the adults giggled, "Normal. Uh-huh, really normal."

"Thank you," Kurt smiled and held his top hat out towards Nathan. "Now, please stuff the paper into the hat, Assistant Nathan."

Nathan followed the command and smiled largely when Kurt asked him to wave the magic wand over the hat. The boy waved it with just as much concentration as he had used before, and repeated every magic word Kurt told him to say. After three waves, Kurt twirled the hat in his hands once and asked Nathan to pull out the newspaper. The entire crowd cheered for the team as he pulled out a felt flower instead of a newspaper.

"A flower!" Nathan giggled and held it out to his parents, "Look Mommy! A flower! No paper!"

The act that followed was surprising for completely different reasons. Anna was almost certain some kind of spell had been used, or, more likely, some kind of insistent begging, but Kitty and Logan stood up next for the talent show. The guard moved Raven's coffee table out of the way to give them a larger area to work with then stood silently next to Kitty.

"As most of you know," The bubbly girl didn't seem nervous in the slightest, despite the impromptuness of the show, "Logan has a ton of like deadly moves." She gestured at him like he was the prize on a game show and the large man just grumbled under his breath, "And since Grand Rapids, he taught me a few self-defense moves that we will now demonstrate."

Most of the group, even those who didn't know Logan well, doubted that Kitty could have taken him if he actually attacked her. There was just too much force on Logan's side to ever make it a fair fight. Still, the large man groused through the motions as Kitty over described each one. The only thing that seemed to keep Logan from growling out that he was done with this stupid show was the constant smiles from Ororo. It was hard to miss the way she grinned at him with such open feeling. As far as Anna could tell, it looked like regal beauty soothed this savage beast a whole lot quicker than music ever could.

When Kitty's long-winded turn was finished, the group clapped as enthusiastically as they could without evoking Logan's wrath. Kitty tried to get him to bow with her, by tugging on his hand, but he remained straight as a board. Anna watched from the corner of her eye as Logan trudged off to sit on the armrest of Ororo's love seat. They didn't actually speak to each other, but the heart-stopping smile Ororo gave him was unmistakable.

The elegant woman stood up from her seat, forcing Anna to look away from their moment and focus on the next act. She had to admit that she hadn't been able to picture Logan and Ororo participating in the show, but the woman was already standing in front of the group with a warm smile on her face. Like the others, she showed no sign of embarrassment as she launched into a retelling of a fantastical tale.

Behind her, the fireplace crackled and snapped with each twist her story offered. Ororo's voice rose to thunderous tones and then shrunk back down to the softest whisper as she floated through the characters and their predicaments. The storm outside of the closed windows seemed to be working with the woman as a notable howling of wind surrounded their cozy home.

By the time the ending of the story was in sight, the listeners all sat perched at the edge of their seats in utter fascination. Logan, having heard such stories from Ororo before, leaned back on the love seat and kept a smug smile on his stubbly face. Sure, she was one of the most drop dead beautiful women he had ever met, but she also had quite the talent for thinking on her feet. That skill had come in handy more times than he could count during their secretive romance. He was game for anything that kept those nosy tour members out of their business.

When Ororo took her final bow, Anna suddenly realized that she and Remy were expected to follow that amazing show. Raven had backed out of performing since she said she was more of a chef than an acting star. It seemed unfair, in Anna's opinion, that no one questioned the statement, but even she could realize they weren't planning on making their host do anything she didn't want to. Why couldn't anyone have the same consideration for a nervous fake blonde?

"Come on Chere," Remy held out his hand to her and gave her a small wink, "Gonna have to work hard to beat that performance."

 _Maybe_ , she relented as she followed Remy to their makeshift stage, _we should have_ _practiced after all_.

The music started to fill the room from Raven's battery powered IPod speakers, and Remy kissed the hand he was still holding tightly, "Let's blow 'em out of the water, Chere."

There was something special flowing through her as Remy squeezed her hand once more and she felt the first sassy tone leave her mouth, " _Anything_ _you can do, I can do better_."

" _Ha_!" He countered with just as much enthusiasm as their hands parted and they let themselves fly into the song.

" _Any note you can sing I can sing higher._ " Remy taunted her with more emotion than the rendition with the real Belle had ever used.

" _I can sing any note higher than you!_ "

" _No, you can't!_ "

" _Yes, I can!_ "

" _No, you can't!_ " He responded with his own high-pitched attempt.

She sucked in a deep breath and belted out the highest note she could physically hit, " _Yes I can_!"

The audience cheered loudly while Remy grinned cheekily at his starlet , " _How do you sing that high?_ "

" _I'm a girl!_ "

" _Could of fooled me._ " He teased and chuckled as she tried to punch him in the arm.

Raven watched the two singers with a mix of emotions. Unlike the other acts, these two behaved as if they had been practicing their song for ages. She had no way of knowing whether or not Remy had performed this tune before, but she did get the impression that they seemed to have learned how to read each other's timing. It was bound to happen after all of the performances they had put on. But she would never have believed two people could sync so well and so quickly on a song they had never tried together.

" _I can open any safe!_ " Remy boasted and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

" _Without being caught?_ "

" _You bet!_ "

" _That's what I thought_ ," She grinned sassily up at him and turned her head so quickly from him her hair almost swatted his face, " _You crook._ "

He grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face him expertly before adding, " _Any note you can hold, I can hold longer._ "

" _I can hold any note longer than you!_ "

" _No, you can't!_ " He let go of her shoulder and stared deeply into her bright eyes.

" _Yes, I can!_ " She growled out not missing a line.

" _No, you can't, can't, can't!_ "

" _Yes, I can, can, can!_ " She took a deep breath and realized how much more fun it was to finally get to sing the female part in this duet, " _Yes I can_!"

The crowd stared in amazement as Anna's note seemed to hang on forever. Her arms stretched out to the sides, blocking Remy from view as he pretended to check his wristwatch in annoyance at her skill. Nathan and Kitty cheered from the sidelines and let out matching laughs as her note came to a screechy halt.

" _Where do you keep all that air?_ " Remy looked her up and down enjoying the free view and the fact it was considered in character for the song.

" _Uh,_ " Anna groaned as her chest expanded from the large breath she took.

" _Oh…_ "

" _I can jump a hurdle._ " He pulled out their old dance steps and pushed her back a step.

" _I can wear a girdle._ " She grinned, enjoying the moment far more than she should.

" _I can knit a sweater._ "

Feeling the rush of spending time with Remy and performing in front of a cheering crowd, she stepped forward and bumped him away with her hip. She struck a bold pose with her chest pushed forward and added, " _I can fill it better!_ "

As they reached the end of their song a few verses later, the entire room let out an appreciative clap. Anna blushed slightly, having almost forgotten that friends and family were watching them. Remy chuckled at her shyness, forcing her to push the expression back and replace it with a rehearsed smile. Had there been a winner of the talent show, Anna knew it would have been Ororo, hands down. But as far as her heart was concerned, she may have just won something more personal between her and Remy.

It had only taken a few roasted marshmallows after the show to finally drain the energy of the guests. Scott and his small family cuddled together on the largest couch, while Ororo and Raven shared the love seat. They had been discussing various topics of interest, but both women nodded off shortly into the discussion. Logan, ever watchful, had remained perched on the armrest of the loveseat with his eyes trained on the room around them.

Kitty and Kurt had snuggled together beside the fire and were slowly starting to tire of chatting about Kurt's various traveling adventures. He had already talked her through each of his England and France photographs. By the time they reached Germany, Kitty had fallen asleep with her head delicately resting on his shoulder. Anna spared her brother a look and noted the honest grin that covered his face as he watched Kitty smile in her sleep.

Once Kurt closed his eyes and seemed to have drifted off, she looked back to her duet partner. Remy was sitting on the other side of the fireplace with a thick wool blanket covering his shoulders. She couldn't help but grin when she watched his head drift down, then suddenly pop back up. He was fighting sleep, but she got the distinct impression that he was losing the battle.

It was hard to wrap her mind around the fact that she had survived a whole slumber party with Remy LeBeau. Not to mention, that she had somehow managed to keep everyone in the tour from finding out Raven was her mother. It was strange to consider such a statement a success. The idea of pretending she wasn't part of this family left a bad taste in her mouth. Raven and Kurt had been there with open arms when no other family would take her. Seemed like the least she could do was not deny their place in her life.

Remy mumbled something in his sleep, and she looked back over to him. His eyes were tightly closed and he seemed to have accepted his head drooping downward. The wild strands of brown hair covering his forehead bothered her and seemed to be asking her to reach out and push them away from his handsome face.

She literally sat on her hands, not sure if she could actually keep herself from trying to reach out and touch him or, worse, kiss him. There had to be something in his chapstick that was addicting. Some kind of chemical that made whoever had the opportunity to kiss those lips go slightly insane. What else could explain the way her eyes always seemed to find their way to those lips?

It seemed like such a long time ago that she had wanted nothing more than to staple his mouth shut for good. She had been so certain that he was nothing but an immature player, but she couldn't find the drive to believe anything like that now. He had been willing to hug her when she thought her heart was broken, the one to kiss her with more feeling than anyone ever could, and the one willing to look like a complete idiot with her in front of his best friends. She wasn't foolish enough to consider him perfect. But she was foolish enough to consider him so many other amazing things that it somewhat scared her.

All that mattered, she realized as she continued to watch his body gently move with each breath, was that she wanted to spend every moment she could with him. She wanted to be the person who made him smile that crooked grin. She wanted to be the one that he chased around and kissed with such passion. She wanted to be with him more than she could fathom.

"I can't pretend anymore." She whispered under her breath and moved over so she could sit right next to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder and took a slow breath before whispering ever so softly to herself, "We need to have a talk."


	20. Goodbye

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The X-Men Or Anything Related To The X-Men. I Do Not Own The Chapter Title Song, 'Goodbye' By Aaron Tveit From The Musical Version of 'Catch Me If You Can' Either.**

 **The Chapter Title Song Is, 'Goodbye' By Aaron Tveit From The Musical Version Of 'Catch Me If You Can'. Yes, another song from a musical is in the story. Don't know too much about the show, but the song was catchy.**

 **Thanks to all of you guys and gals for reading the previous chapters. I hope you enjoy this story and the newest chapter. Thanks to Mrs. Jehilew for her review and so many discussions about stories.**

* * *

The ice melted quicker than Anna expected or hoped it would. By noon, the bright sunshine had warmed the town and left only small patches on the roads, allowing the residents to once again leave their homes and get on with their lives. The cozy group in Raven's home had tried to ignore the outside world by enjoying the world-class breakfast Ororo whipped up. But as three o'clock rolled around, they could no longer fight the obvious; it was time to get back on the road.

"I'll miss you, sis." Kurt hugged Anna tightly as the family said their private goodbyes in front of the hotel. The others had expressed multiple thank yous to their hosts but politely left them alone afterward to allow them some personal time.

"You too, Kurt." She hugged him just as tightly then gave him a good-natured wink; "I'll make sure to talk you up to Kitty."

"Wha?" He sputtered, a deep blush covering his pale cheeks, "No, no, no…. don't do that." She grinned cheekily at him as the boy eventually added, through a deeper blush, "Well, I mean… if she _asks_ about me… I guess you could say some stuff."

"Like about Mr. Fluff, your space exploring teddy bear?"

He fell for the playful sibling tease and jumped right back to his more animated expressions, "Well, then Remy might just hear about the time you-"

"Stop this you two." Raven sighed watching Rogue laugh and try to avoid Kurt's grab at her shoulder. "You realize you are both over twenty years old, right?"

"I realize Anna hits like a little girl." Kurt chuckled and dodged a punch from his sister.

Raven had to admit that part of her was happy her two oddballs still meshed so well together. Even with all the time spent apart, they acted as if they had never left each other's side. Still, as entertaining as the reunion was, she knew that they all had bigger things to do. Anna couldn't avoid her tour and Kurt needed to start packing before his flight tomorrow.

"Anna," She broke into the conversation after Kurt left them to start the car, "I hope you had a good visit."

"Yeah, I doubt I will ever forget this Thanksgiving, mama." She paused a moment, then admitted in a soft voice before hugging her mom, "Thanks, by the way."

"For what?"

"Letting me figure this whole stupid thing out myself." Raven's warm arms held her snugly as she added, "I love you."

"I love you, too," She kissed her daughter's head and gave her one more tight squeeze before letting go.

Anna waved to her brother and headed back up the hotel steps with a small sense of happiness in her chest. She was terrified to tell Remy the truth, but having people behind her that would be there no matter what happened took some of the stress away. All she had to do was find the courage to talk to him.

"Oh, Anna!" Raven's voice forced her to turn back around and stare at her mom leaning out of the front passenger seat's window, "Tell Remy that he needs to be back in town no later than the twenty-ninth of December to make it for the charity show."

Anna's jaw dropped in surprise as Raven and Kurt suddenly drove away, "You booked him for your charity show?!"

When the tour finally made it to Tennessee, quite late thanks to the Mississippi freeze, everyone seemed to be in a tremendous hurry. The tour organizers had planned a day off before launching into the Nashville show, to allow everyone a little free time to explore the city, but it was no longer remotely possible. The backstage crew hit the arena at three am on arrival day to hook up their miles worth of cables and ensure the sound system and lights would work. The singers managed to get a few winks of sleep on the bus ride before being called to a ten am rehearsal.

Due to the chaos, Anna hadn't been able to snag a moment with Kitty or Remy. Her goal was to ask Kitty for her opinion on the matter and then approach Remy. As far as Anna knew, her friend still held the final decision. She had pushed the girl into letting her try to tell Cody, but she didn't want that this time. Telling Remy who she was needed to be done, but it would change too much of both their lives to make that choice alone. If Kitty were against it, then Remy would have to wait until the end of the tour.

Of course, waiting seemed like a rather strange idea now. Remy had already kissed her at least two times since they arrived in Nashville, despite the hustle and bustle. Once, when she was busy looking through sheet music at the backstage piano, and another time when she made some stupid remark about one of his costume pieces. Each time his warm lips found her pair, no matter how briefly, she felt her whole body shiver. She wanted to respect Kitty's wishes, whatever they turned out to be, but she couldn't keep pretending that she didn't want to sneak up and kiss him right back.

It wasn't perfect, nor the right time for such a discussion, but she finally managed to find a secluded moment with Kitty in her hotel room. They had to leave for the arena in less than twenty minutes, but Anna just couldn't wait any longer. Once she decided to take the step, the nervous energy racing through every nerve in her body wouldn't let her relax until she made a move.

"You are going to tell him?" Kitty repeated the statement to make sure she hadn't imagined Anna's words. "You seriously are going to tell Remy that you are Anna Darkholme?"

"If it is okay with you."

"Okay with me?" Kitty laughed out loud.

"This is funny to you? If he freaks out you and I will both be in trouble. You do understand that this could go very badly?"

The younger woman stopped her giggles and shook her head side to side to try and convince her friend she wasn't making fun of her or taking the situation lightly. Kitty had been rooting for Anna and Remy to become an item for so long in her mind, that she was overcome with the blunt request shoved at her. While she agreed Remy could very well turn Anna down and make a giant scene in front of Ororo, she also knew that it was the best thing to do. Those two needed a chance and it wouldn't happen unless they really talked.

"No, I get that it is a like big deal. But I'm still happy to hear you finally say you are going to tell him. You, me, and those poorly covered hickeys on your neck already know you think he is a Hotty McHotington."

"Thanks," Anna smiled at her, choosing to bluntly ignore the comment on her feelings about Remy, as Kitty was already switching back to her old behaviors. "I appreciate the okay, Kit."

"You know, if you really want to thank me…" The woman grinned brightly and leaned forward, "You could always give me your brother's number. He really is kind of cute under all that shyness. Great hair, sweet smile, and a really nice-"

"I get it, I get it." Anna's hands popped up and waved before Kitty ventured any further down that train of thought. "I'll give you whatever you want, just stop talking."

With one part of her plan finished, Anna raced off towards Remy's hotel room on the next floor up. She knew that she didn't have time to tell him everything before the show, but she wanted the chance to ask him to stop by her room later before they hit the busy arena. He didn't open the door when she knocked, so she settled for pulling a piece of paper out of her purse and writing him a small note, _Meet me in my hotel room after the show. I really need to see you. Rogue_.

It was impossible to focus during the show. She wasn't sure how she had been able to make it through her basic songs, let alone the moment Remy appeared on stage. The crowd was just as thrilled by the end of her turn, but she could barely hear their thunderous applause over her pounding heartbeat. All her mind would allow, was a nervous smile directed at Remy, who was grinning a mile wide as he stared back at her.

Anna ducked out of the arena the moment she was done on stage. She knew it was eerily similar to the attempt to tell Cody about her being Bella, but she pushed the notion away. Unlike that time, she already knew this could end in a fight. It would seem strange if Remy _didn't_ get at least a little upset. All that kept her going as she reached her hotel room, was the thought that maybe, just maybe, he would be able to find some way to forgive her for tricking him.

"So, _this_ is your disguise?"

The voice stopped the fake blonde dead in her tracks. As the door swung close behind her, the woman perched on the only chair in the room looked her up and down with judgmental eyes. After finishing the brief inspection, she stood up and walked calmly over to Anna.

"They actually believed you were me?"

"Bella,"

Anna tried to think of something, anything, to say as her cousin stared into her eyes with strong indignation. But what could she actually say? Suddenly coming face to face with her own personal boogeyman had sucked almost her entire reserve of courage. Nothing she could think of sounded right or good enough to even open her mouth.

Bella Donna frowned and took a longer look at her cousin's entire ensemble. It was still difficult to wrap her mind around the whole situation. In fact, she had been fighting the entire story all the way to the hotel's front counter. When the attendant smiled at her and greeted her by name, she hadn't been able to ignore the reality of the situation any longer. Anna had fooled him enough, that the man was willing to let Bella into the room after a simple excuse of a lost key.

"You saw the picture of Remy and me kissing didn't you?" Anna suddenly blurted as her fears started to line up for their turn to jump out of her overwhelmed head and into the tense room.

"You kissed Remy LeBeau as me?!" Bella demanded in shock.

"Or… you might not have seen that…"

"Do you know what I have been doing for the past day and a half?" Bella's annoyance rose steadily as she held out an accusatory finger at her cousin. "I have been stuck in every form of transportation known to man to try and track you down."

Anna hung her head slightly, feeling the waves of guilt she had imagined so many times wash over her. It felt familiar to be in a yelling match with her cousin. They practiced the art of arguing for hours at a time in high school. But this time, Anna didn't have a leg to stand on. She couldn't find any way to justify pretending to be Bella Donna as she stared into the real Bella's eyes.

"How did you…" She paused to take a step away from her cousin, "How did you find out then?"

"Oh, I'll tell you exactly how. Stuck in a plane in the middle of South America, I had the joy of sitting next to the world's chattiest businessman. Imagine my surprise when he starts asking me all about being thrown out of some hotel bar in Oregon."

Could it actually be possible that her fight with Cody and subsequent mention in a newspaper article about show divas was the thing to sink her? Anna watched in silence as Bella grabbed her purse and rummaged for something. When she whipped out a wrinkled piece of newspaper and held it out for Anna to see, the girl felt her whole body go numb. The article wasn't flattering in any light, but the snapshot of a flustered looking Bella storming through a hallway was worse.

"Bella, I…I'm so-" Anna tried once again but was stopped by her cousin.

"No. I don't want to hear it, Anna!" She turned her back to her cousin and stormed a few steps away, "How could you do something like this to me?"

The words struck a chord in Anna and forced her feet to move. She didn't care for fighting, but she wasn't going to sit back and take all the barbs, " _How could I do something to you_?"

Anna placed a hand on Bella's shoulder and pulled the slightly taller girl around, "Do you even know why I was in that bar? The only reason that article happened was because you can't keep your hands off any man with a pulse!"

"Excuse me?!" Bella had been upset before, but now she was practically livid.

"You know exactly what I am talking about! You slept with Cody and who knows who else!" Anna poked the girl rudely and hissed, "The whole reason I dressed up as you in the first place was because you left me hanging again! You always forget everyone and everything the moment some sleazy guy looks at you!"

"At least the men I date know who I am." Bella's voice was pure ice as she glared at her cousin, "They like me for me. What can you say about Remy? Does he even know you exist?"

Before Anna could respond to the comment, a knock on the door interrupted the fight. She knew with heart-wrenching certainty, who was behind that thin piece of wood. There had been so many hopes and fears inside her when she slipped the note under his door, but now all she felt was an overwhelming wave of nausea.

"Bella?" Remy's voice reached through the door and left both women in a staring contest. "Aren't you going to open the door, Chere?"

The use of her name sent the last shred of patience out of Bella Donna's mind. She marched towards the door and was only inches away from the handle when Anna tugged on her arm. She begged her cousin to step away from the door, but the protests didn't reach past Belle's hurt feelings. Instead, she grabbed the handle and pulled it open to find a very surprised Remy LeBeau and a bottle of expensive wine.

After finding the note in his hotel room, Remy had run through quite a few scenarios of how this meeting would go. He expected Rogue might be a little disheveled and still in her concert clothes or maybe she would have slipped into something more comfortable. But, he'd never expected to see two Bella Donnas when the door swung open.

"What the…" He mumbled and stepped into the room with a sense of growing unease. "Who…"

"Remy, I can explain everything." Anna jumped into the conversation and noted her cousin merely watched the scene with a sour look. "You see, I-"

"She pretended to be me." Bella broke in and snidely held out her hand to Remy, "Welcome to the Anna played me like a complete idiot club. I am the real Bella Donna Boudreaux."

Remy's head was starting to spin as he tried to piece together all the information the women divulged. He looked over at the pair of green eyes he once found so charming and realized they were full of remorse. The woman looked away from him for a moment, then gently reached up and started to undo her hair.

As the wig fell to the floor and Anna's natural brown curls flowed past her shoulders, Remy took a slow breath to steady himself. The way her eyes shined with fear and pain when she looked back to him tore at his heart, but a much larger section felt as if it had been ripped into jagged shreds. All these weeks he had been falling for, kissing, and confiding in a woman who had been playing him like a full-fledged chump.

" _Anna_?" He questioned the name, needing to say something before his mind raced away.

"Yes." Anna answered in as steady a voice as she could produce, "My real name is Anna Darkholme. I'm Bella's cousin." She squeezed her hands into fists so tightly she could feel the fingernails digging into both palms, "Remy, I… I wasn't trying to hurt you."

"What exactly were you trying to do Be… Anna?" He tried to keep his breathing calm as thoughts kept running through his mind quicker than he could process them.

How could he have been such an idiot to fall for this woman? Was he really stupid enough to have missed all the clues? He knew, though he didn't want to admit it even in his own head, that all of the moments they had shared were shattered. Maybe he had felt something for this mystery woman, but who knew what she felt about anything.

"Just using me to further your career?" He spat out as the pain spread throughout his chest.

"No!" Anna objected and tried to stop herself from running out of this whole argument. She couldn't let it end like this. "I wouldn't do that to you, Remy! You have to believe me. I only dressed up because Bella left us at the bar and I really needed the money."

"So you did everything to make a quick buck?" He was starting to lose his own temper, as the feelings of betrayal grew stronger.

"I didn't do this for the money!"

"Then why? Why did you pretend you actually cared? Why did you lie to me, Anna?!"

She bit her bottom lip, unsure what to say as Remy's aggravation reached its boiling point. _Why did she join this tour_? Suddenly, she found herself questioning every twist and turn that led her to step onto that bus so many weeks ago.

Was it the excitement? The chance to sing, write, and even dance in front of an applauding crowd was thrilling. The money from this one tour was also pretty great compared to the paycheck to paycheck life she had been struggling through. Maybe those things did help convince her to stay with the tour to some degree, but that wasn't what really sold her. It was the people. It was Remy LeBeau the charming, handsome thief that had captured her heart.

"I am so sorry Remy," She fought the tears trying to break out as he watched her with such cold, pitiless eyes, "I am so sorry for all of this mess. But, I just… you have to know that I wasn't pretending with you. I mean… I really do care about you."

"I don't even know who you are." The hurt man finally responded after taking a long, ragged breath.

As he stepped away from them and walked down the hall without sparing a single look back, Anna felt her last reserve crumble. The tears escaped her green eyes in painful silence as she began running around the room to gather whatever belongings she could spot. Inside her chest, she could no longer feel anything. During the whole fight, her heart had been torn inch by inch until it appeared there was simply nothing left to rip. Now, all she felt was the cold numbness of nothing; absolutely nothing.

"Anna…" Bella's voice floated to her ears as she shoved the last of her visible junk into a bag. "Anna, I…"

She remained uncommunicative as she zipped up the bag, and headed straight for the door. It was all over. No matter what anyone said or did; the fairytale was over.


	21. Who You Are

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The X-Men Or Anything Related To The X-Men. I Do Not Own The Chapter Title Song, 'Who You Are' By Jessie J Either.**

 **The Chapter Title Song Is, 'Who You Are' By Jessie J.**

 **Thanks to everyone who read the previous chapter. Thanks for taking time out of your busy days guys and gals to read this story. Thanks to Mrs. Jehilew, the guest reviewer, and Coco-Chic for their reviews. This chapter has been looked at and looked at, and discussed multiple times with the patient Jehilew lol. So, it isn't exactly how I saw it, but hopefully, you will enjoy reading it.**

* * *

She wasn't sure where her feet were storming off to, but as the dimness of the outside world suddenly shifted into blinding light Anna pulled herself out of her troubled mind long enough to examine the room. Schedules for the buses headed to New York were listed in two slots on the board, and both were decorated with large delayed labels. The last thing she wanted to do was wait in Nashville a second longer than absolutely necessary, but it seemed like nothing was going her way tonight.

While standing in line for the only available ticket counter, she tried to ignore the people staring at her. She must have been quite a sight; wild hair, make-up any raccoon would be proud of, and wrinkled clothing that offered no more than basic help against the chilly breeze in the station (let alone the genuinely cold weather outside). Another shiver wracked her tired body, but she refused to step out of the line to dig through her duffle bag for a sweater. Did she even pack a sweater in her hurry?

"Rogue!"

The loud voice startled everyone in the bus depot and forced quite a few heads to look around for the source.

"Rogue!"

The voice called again, and only one person refused to look at the source. She knew that sound and she didn't want to face it. Wasn't it enough that she told him who she was? That was the whole point, right?

"What the hell are you doing?" He grabbed her shoulder forcing her to spin to the side and face him.

"Buying a bus ticket." She answered without looking up to his eyes, "Just leave me alone, Remy."

"You can't honestly leave just like that!" His voice was rising swiftly, causing the bulky man two spaces behind Anna to step out of line.

"This guy bothering you lady?" He eyed Remy up then jutted his thumb towards the door, "Why don't you just leave now, buddy?"

"Butt out." Remy growled at him and turned his face back to Anna, "You have to talk to me, Anna!"

 _Did he use her real name?_

She looked up to see the big man from the line step forward and push Remy away from her. He stumbled back only a step and then charged forward snarling at the hulk, "Fuck off. This is between me and her."

She noticed the strange man's fist clench only seconds before he lifted it from his side. Thinking it would be helpful, she shouted out at Remy to duck. The interruption of her voice was just enough to distract Remy and earn him a nice, solid punch to the face. Blood spurted from his newly split lip and rolled down his chin.

"Leave him alone!"

The sight of Remy's injured face kicked a new degree of rage out of Anna. She spun on her heels and tried to throw a punch right into the oversized man's side. The first one almost caught him off guard and he let out a small groan of annoyance. When she tried to throw another quick punch, he caught her wrist and held her arm up above her head.

"You're both crazy!" He complained, feeling he'd wasted both his time and energy on a pair of lunatics instead of a beautiful girl on the rebound.

Remy's own feelings of protectiveness snapped into action without a single hesitation, as he watched Anna grimace due to the awkward angle of her arm. He socked the man squarely in the left eye, causing the brute to let go of Anna and trip over his own feet.

"Touch her again," Remy snarled when the man's gaze found him again, "And I will show you just how crazy."

The threat, mixed with the furious night guard standing behind Remy, had the desired effect. The hulking man nodded his head and quickly regained enough of his footing to stumble towards the exit. With one task finished, the Cajun turned around expecting to find Anna watching him with big, nervous eyes. The name badge that greeted him instead, was not only shiny but also declared Pete Hanigan, was the head of security.

Whether it was because they hadn't started the fight, or because they were considered more trouble than they were worth, Anna wasn't sure. Either way, as they were shoved ungracefully into the cold night air, she found herself cursing under her breath and massaging her sore wrist.

"You okay?"

She glanced over to see Remy's lip was still bleeding and his shirt was sporting a few red stains, "Yeah. Your lip looks pretty bad."

"'Bout as bad as it feels probably," He added with no sign of a chuckle or any other attempt to raise the mood, not that she could blame him.

"Come on." She directed him across the street to an empty park. It was hard to say what surprised her more, that he followed her or the fact he did it in silence. Had she beaten him down so far that he lost that special boldness?

After sitting down on the only park bench with a cover overhead, she set her bag between them and started to dig through the disheveled contents. After a few minutes, she pulled out an unopened packet of travel-sized tissues and handed him the container. He took it wordlessly and placed one of the thin tissues against his throbbing lip.

"So," She took a breath and swung her feet awkwardly, "Thanks for helping me back there…I kinda figured after all this…"

"You honestly thought I would _want_ you to be hurt?!" He asked with complete shock and slight anger.

"No. Yes…" She sputtered on her words and fears, "Not a physical hurt." She finally mumbled out and kept looking around at anything besides him, "Just, I didn't… it surprised me to see you stand up for me after everything."

"I wasn't the one who tried to sucker punch the guy in the gut." He pointed out, the tiniest flare of pride in his voice. "He never saw that coming."

"Yeah," A nervous laugh escaped her throat, but the accompanying silence sent her back into anxious gestures.

She made some comment about having a bottle of Advil in her bag to help with his soreness, but he plucked her hands from the duffel then knocked it to the floor. He hadn't been attacked in a bus station to sit here and make small talk. There were bigger issues that needed to be addressed.

"Hey! There is breakable stuff in there!"

" _Seriously_?" He sighed like she was missing the big picture.

"Yes, seriously!"

"Forget the bag!" He growled out with a little more force than he intended when Anna tried to lean down and grab her stuff.

They sat in an uncomfortable stillness for a few more minutes, neither willing to say anything and both almost afraid to even breathe too loudly. Anna couldn't wrap her mind around what could possibly be left to say between them. She had told him who she was, or, more accurately, Bella told him who she was. She tried to explain and he told her exactly where she stood. Did they really need to sit on a cold bench to rehash that she was a horrible person?

Finally, she asked, "How did you know I would be here?"

"I had a feeling you would run away."

"But how did you know to look at the bus station?"

"I had a feeling you would run away _cheaply_."

She furrowed her brow, not liking the snide comment about her frugal nature. Sure, it was true she would pick the trip with the lowest cost, but that was smart planning. Even in her heartbreak, she was smart enough to plan ahead. It was a good skill, no matter what he said.

"Not all of us can be multimillion singing sensations." She crossed her arms and tapped her fingers on one of her upper arms.

"And some of us can't have the decency to tell the man we're makin' out with our real name."

The sting of his words hit her with lung stopping force. So they _were_ sitting in close to freezing temperatures to repeat the same argument about her being terrible? Great. Just what she wanted to do with her last night in Tennessee ever. Who wouldn't want to spend countless hours dissecting their stupidity while gaining a case of frostbite in the process?

"I told you that I am sorry." She sighed and readjusted her arms so her hands could grip the edge of the bench on either side of her legs. The cold feel of the metal helped keep her grounded as she added, "What else do you want?"

"I want to know why," He paused and reached out to grasp her chin, forcing her to look at him, "Why did you kiss me like that?"

She tried to pull his hand away from her chin, but he wasn't going to give it up, "It doesn't matter anymore."

He dropped his hand and furrowed his eyebrows. _Did she actually say that it didn't matter anymore?_ As much as he fought it in his head, he just couldn't believe someone could pretend to be _that_ interested in another person. He had felt her heart race when she was in his arms and the strength of her desire to intensify their kisses hadn't gone unnoticed either.

But interest or not, it still didn't address the painful questions that had been rattling around his head since that wig fell off. Who was she really? Why did she do this to him? What in the world was or was not between them? And most importantly, why in the world did he care?

Remy blinked a few times to clear the dust from his brain and tried to rephrase his question in a more direct way, "Stop bull shiting, me, Anna."

"What?"

"Tell me why."

Anna's face shifted through more emotions than he could count. When she finally opened her mouth to say something, Remy waited with his full attention trained on her, until she once again closed her full lips. Part of him wanted to just crack open her head and take a look at the thoughts floating around. It would have been a lot easier to get answers, instead of waiting for her to speak.

Watching Remy's crimson eyes burn into her green pair did little but hinder her brain's ability to think straight. Everything that flowed through her mind just didn't sound right. If it didn't sound good enough in her own head, what chance was there that Remy would take it well? _I was so ready to have a full and open talk with him_ , she thought ironically, _but now I can't even answer a simple question_. All she could think was that he said her name twice now with something more than just vengeance in his voice.

Okay, it wasn't the most romantic sentence her name had ever been attached to. In fact, it was probably the lowest on the list of things attractive men told her. Was it so horrible that she still felt the smallest spark in her chest at hearing the sound come out of his mouth? Even before he knew she was really Anna, the name had always been changed to, 'your mysterious cousin'.

"Anna?" He repeated the name in question still waiting for his answer.

"I already told you." She sighed, unable to keep their eye lock as her real feelings poured out, "I care about you. Despite all the disguises and fake identities. I care about you more than I realized I could. And you don't even know who I am."

Remy was quiet, letting her ramble onward.

"You're right, you know," She laughed bitterly at her situation and spared him a look of defeat fueled by a dream long ago crushed, "You know absolutely nothing about me. My real hair color, my shrimp allergy, my history as the world's worst foster kid. Oh, and that I am apparently completely incapable of living my life without riding my cousin's coattails."

When Remy was still silent, she pushed some hair behind her ear and looked at him with a completely self-loathing expression, "You're the smart one. Run away before you get pulled any deeper into this poor fuckin' excuse of a woma-"

"Stop that right now," Remy demanded in such a deep voice that Anna's mouth fell open for a moment. He touched her cheek soothingly and added, "Don't say that. Not now, or ever."

She refused to let her head lean into his touch. Her pride and heart were too hurt to just forget everything that happened. But, she could still feel the overwhelming desire to close her eyes and focus only on his rough thumb, try and gain her brain's approval. When Remy's thumb stopped caressing her cheek only seconds later, she dared to look into his eyes.

"Why?"

"What?" He mumbled in response to her whisper and let his hand slide from her cheek and down her arm.

"Why do you do things like that?" She cleared her throat and refocused on the chilly wind rushing past her, "Why do you still try to stick up for me? After all, I did."

Remy waited a minute to consider her question a little deeper. He should be mad; actually, he was still pretty livid about being hoodwinked. But madness or not, he just couldn't sit there and listen to Anna tear herself apart. There was something so painful about hearing what she actually thought of herself that he had to speak up. Somehow, whoever this bizarre woman was, she had made it deeper into his heart than he ever realized.

The sudden awareness frightened him, and he suddenly pulled his hand away from her arm. Was he actually considering doing anything more than walking away from this woman forever? All he wanted was the chance to hear the whole story from her mouth, without an audience. Well, he wanted to hear the story _and_ have a chance to rant and yell too. How did she make him want to hug her one second and shout the next?

"Don't really know." He sighed and leaned against the back of the bench. His lip had finally started to clot, so he threw the tissue in a nearby trashcan.

"You don't know?" She had no ground to stand on, but he hadn't let her get away with that as an answer.

"If I was smart," He admitted, "We would fight and then go our separate ways without another thought."

"I just said tha-"

"No," He interrupted and gave her a pointed frown before continuing, "I mean, I _should_ be able to walk away."

"Why don't you?" She noticed he was staring even more closely at her eyes.

"Guess I just have a bigger masochist side than I ever realized?" He took a slow breath and forced himself to answer in a more serious tone, "Look, I am still mad at you. I mean raw, furious anger… But I also can't stop thinking about you."

Anna took a turn as the silent one as Remy tried to find some path between his anger and other feelings.

"Do you have any idea how fucked up it is to think you will never be able to even look at someone again, and at the very same time worry that she is somewhere out there catching pneumonia?"

"I'm beginning to." She revealed, "It is probably a lot like wanting to be close to someone amazing and knowing he will hate you with every fiber of his being the moment he finds out who you are."

"I don't hate you."

She took a slow, deliberate breath unsure if she wanted to question the statement, "Really?"

"Really. I may want to scream and shake an ounce of sense into you, but I don't think I could hate you."

"That's a start." She wasn't sure where the tiny bit of humor came from, but she tried to give him a smile. "Maybe," She looked at his face and noticed he seemed as tired and confused as she felt, "Maybe we could start over?"

"What?"

"My name is Anna," She pushed past the question and watched him let out a small, but real chuckle as she held out her hand, "I'm twenty-five, a waitress at a low-class New York diner, and I usually look a lot more put together."

Remy, for reasons unknown to his common sense, but fully accepted by his heart, took the offered hand and kissed it as gently as he had in their first meeting, "Nice to meet you, Anna. Name's Remy. May I say you look almost stylish? Drowned raccoon could become a new fashion statement."

"Funny, Cajun." She laughed, shaking her head at his antics, "Real, funny."

"What would you say to grabbing a cup of coffee?"

The sudden statement, broke her blissfully ignorant mood, and forced her to ask in a nervous voice, "Excuse me?"

"Coffee. You know, that cheap brown stuff at diners?" He stood up from the bench and after taking a moment to think through a million different options, offered his hand to her, "Two people getting to know each other over a few slices of pie and coffee sounds a lot better than a cold bench, no?"

"That sounds wonderful, Remy." She took his hand and noticed that he held on a moment longer than necessary, "It was Remy, right?"

"Just for that, you are paying for the pie _and_ the coffee." He laughingly replied to her joke and hoisted the duffle bag over his shoulder, "Ever thought of taking that comedy show on the road, Chere?"

Her old nickname randomly tumbling out of his mouth made both of them freeze in surprise. They looked into each other's eyes and noted they were both wearing tiny, but matching, nervous smiles. Maybe they weren't the same as before. And maybe they never would be. But that didn't mean they couldn't become something completely different, together.


	22. Keep Your Head Up

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The X-Men Or Anything Related To The X-Men. I Do Not Own The Chapter Title Song, 'Keep Your Head Up' By Andy Grammar Either. I also do not own Starbucks.**

 **The Chapter Title Song Is, 'Keep Your Head Up' By Andy Grammer.**

 **Thank you for reading the past chapter everyone. I appreciate you guys and gals taking time out of your busy days to read and look at this chapter. Thank you for all the reviews of the earlier chapters, too. Thanks to Mrs. Jehilew for beta-ing this chapter. It has been so long since we talked about this, but I hope I got some of your helpful suggestions into this chapter. Also, I went back and changed a little bit of the past chapter, but it is not anything big that requires a re-read. Anyway, here is the newest chapter:**

* * *

By the time Remy finally punched the elevator button in the hotel lobby, he'd discovered a little peace with the entire confusing situation. The mere thought of a shred of 'peace' amongst the craziness and absurdity of the night almost made him bark out a sarcastic laugh. There was still plenty to figure out, to talk about, to argue through, but it didn't take away from the fact that these two weirdoes had a start.

A start to what exactly? He didn't know.

Remy doubted if even Rogue knew where they stood or what they were going to do in four hours when everyone else woke up and started packing up to head onwards to the next tour stop. Still, when it came down to it, he'd run through enough emotions in the past few hours to be left with only a bizarre sense of calmness floating through his muscular frame.

"This is my floor," Anna mumbled to him as the sign on the inside of the elevator shifted to a different digit.

Before this night, Anna would have believed any pair who went out for late night coffee, talked about the most basic, boring things in their lives, and walked home together just completed an official date. A dull one, but a real date nonetheless. Things were different now, in her opinion. She couldn't claim what it was they had just completed, but it didn't seem to fit in the date category. They'd spent the last few hours throwing random topics left and right at each other. Nothing was off limits, but they hadn't really delved far enough past the beginning stages to reach the most private topics either. Eventually, they got to the point, where nothing more was said besides a few casual words as they sipped the world's worst coffee.

She'd admitted Cody was actually her own mess and he admitted he wondered if she had lice for the first part of the tour. The comment earned him a tightly scrunched up frown, which just made him smile a little closer to the way he used to. Despite the fact, she felt like she shared the biggest amount of information, which was actually fitting since he really _didn't_ know her, it hadn't been as uncomfortable as she once feared. If she were a braver woman, Anna would have dared to say that maybe they were friends in some capacity.

"Remy," She quietly said as he walked her down the long hall to her room. She still couldn't fathom the fact he hadn't ducked out the moment they hit the lobby. But there he remained, right at her side, without question.

"Hm?"

"How did you know I left? I mean…" She paused, suddenly feeling all the calmness she acquired minutes before leaving her body, "when you left I thought you would never come back."

He took a long breath and decided to keep on telling her the truth, "I didn't come back."

"Then why did you go looking for me?"

"Bella." He noticed the twinge of fear and surprise in her eyes. She almost looked like she was having a flashback at the sound of her cousin's name, "She chased me down and told me some things."

"What did she tell you?"

"I think," He gestured to her door and waited to see what move she made next, "That is something between the two of you."

 _Was he insane_? Was Remy LeBeau certifiably nuts? After all they had been through he actually thought Bella would _listen_ to her? Anna was far more likely to be found as the dartboard target in her cousin's apartment than a conversation partner.

"You talked to me." He added as she considered her options.

"Well, you aren't likely to kick me in the shin or pull hair."

"What did you two do in high school? Start a cheerleader fight club?"

She scoffed at the mere idea of her being a cheerleader; they would have laughed her uncoordinated body right off the field and into the school dumpster.

"Give her a chance." He nodded his head to the door again, "She obviously still cares about you."

"It isn't going to change anything, Remy. She doesn't want to see me, let alone hear what I have to say."

"Then," He raised a fist and knocked on the door, "I suggest you start by listening and her talking."

He gave her one last stare with those deep crimson colored eyes and let his hand gingerly touch hers before he walked down the hall to the elevator. Whatever happened between those two women was up to them. As much as his curious side felt a pull to stay, he wasn't going to give in. The next move for the mysterious Anna was in her hands.

Belle opened the door mere seconds after Remy's figure disappeared into the elevator. Anna noted her eyes looked a little puffy as if she had been crying, but her make-up was nowhere near as smeared as her raccoon cousin. Despite the less drastic look, the sight was enough to shock Anna into silence as she stumbled into the room.

Bella Donna was confident, poised, sophisticated, and a thousand other positive adjectives. What she was not, was a crier. The mood in the room shifted to an even lower level as Anna began to realize she was one of the obvious sources for the tears. It was hard, despite knowing the absurdity of her long held thought, for Anna to realize the woman she thought had it all put together was, in fact, human.

"Remy found you?"

The words sounded firmer than Anna expected, so she merely nodded her head gingerly.

"When I told him you left," Belle crossed her arms over her chest, then nervously parted them and tucked a piece of blonde hair behind her ear, "I think it shocked him. Like he thought you would still be there when he cooled off."

"Guess he doesn't know what a track star you really are." Belle continued, her hurt feelings bubbling to the surface as she tried to sort out her next move.

"At least _I_ didn't flee the country with some random guy I met at Starbucks." Anna countered and watched her cousin pace like a cat waiting to strike.

"Oh no," Belle suddenly darted back towards her and pointed a stern finger at her face, "You have no room to talk! I can date whatever guy I want. And unlike certain people, the guys I date know who I am."

"Alright fine, I should never have used your name! But that doesn't give you any right to just bust in and sleep with my boyfriend, in my apartment, while I work my ass off at that damn diner!"

The statement sent both women into opposite corners of the room for a moment of necessary cool down time. Anna rubbed her temples and tried to take slow, calming breaths to curb her rapidly growing headache. She spared a glance over to Belle in the other corner and realized the blonde looked just as worn out and tired as Anna felt. This whole thing was unfortunately quite typical for them; yell first and constructively discuss the problem never. It was the same old thing that got them to the same old place, every time. And for once, with Remy's parting words of support echoing through her ears, Anna made the hard choice to swallow her sore pride and make the first positive move.

"Belle," Anna stood as straight as she could and braved one of her biggest fears, "I actually am sorry for pretending to be you. I should never have put that wig on and walked on stage."

"Yeah, blonde really isn't your color." Belle's lip curved upward ever so slightly as she mercifully reciprocated Anna's attempt to change their destructive natures. The almost smile grew when Anna's own smile started to peek through her tense expression.

"Actually," She reigned in the small amount of humor and added in a more serious tone, "I'm so sorry about everything with Cody. I shouldn't have done that to you."

Belle wasn't remotely proud of what happened between her and Cody. Everything had seemed so exciting and extraordinary when he stared at her like she was the only person in the room. _She_ had felt special and unique in those dizzying moments. But the second her senses came rushing back to her, there was nothing left but a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and a strong dose of self-loathing. It happened so many times after her less than stellar choices in men fizzled out, that she would've thought the effect might have worn off or, at least, lessened. If anything, the painful and tumultuous feelings felt worse now than they did at the start.

"Man, we sound like real winners, don't we?" Anna shuffled her feet and then took a seat on the edge of the queen sized bed. "I still can't believe you or Remy are willing to talk to me."

"Do you really think of me as a big flake you can't trust?" The tone shifted to a more concerned and thoughtful one as Belle powered past Anna's self-degrading statement. After a moment to think her newest decision through, Belle walked over and sat down next to Anna. "I don't break our plans and stuff to hurt you, Anna."

"I know you don't Belle."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, each battling a multitude of thoughts, questions, and concerns they were unable or unwilling to ask outright. As open as the air of communication between the cousins seemed, it didn't stop their own anxieties from getting in the way. Finally, Bella ventured into an area she knew would force Anna's mental walls to rebuild, despite the necessity of the topic.

"I can't say that I'm not angry that you took my name, but I am sorry about making the whole thing with Remy worse."

Anna shrugged, trying not to show any emotion besides general aloofness, "It doesn't matter."

"But, you really like him. I saw the look on your face the moment he entered the room."

"He doesn't belong with me." Anna protested with a small bit of emotion, not willing to fully believe she'd shown any expression besides fear earlier that night, "And he's right you know, that we don't know each other."

" _Really_?" Belle's attitude shifted into a wiser, more sisterly sound, "That is what is stopping you? Anna, there is this little invention called _talking_ you should consider. You see, one person tells the other person something and they respond. It's a great way to learn who someone is."

"Funny, Belle." She grumbled sarcastically. "You know that it's more complicated than that."

"Is it really? Or are you just making it that much more complicated?"

The statement surprised Anna on multiple counts. It was almost impossible to imagine sitting beside Bella Donna, let alone talking to her politely after everything that happened. The idea that she was now being given relationship advice, however randomly, was out of the realms of her mind. Still, the words did have a way of picking at her brain until she couldn't avoid thinking about them.

"You don't get it, Belle. We spent the last few hours talking, but it's different." Anna continued to fight the idea, "He trusted me with things I don't think he has told anybody before. He thought he knew me and then I just pulled the rug out from under him. Maybe he could make some small talk, but nobody is going to forgive something like that."

"Seriously?" Belle sighed at her cousin's lack of imagination; "You expect one conversation will put you right back where you were? Anna, just breathe and realize for once that you don't have to run just because you're scared."

Was she actually complicating things worse with her own fears? No, it just wasn't that simple. It couldn't be that simple. Bella may talk a great game, but she didn't understand how deeply Remy had been hurt. More accurately, she didn't understand how deeply _Anna hurt him_.

"I forgive you, Anna."

The brunette's head snapped towards Belle so quickly, her neck began to twinge in pain, "What?"

"If anyone understands this, it's me." She let out a soft sigh and patted Anna's arm, "Maybe we fight and can't see eye to eye on…well, anything. But you're still my best friend." She noted the shock in Anna's wide eyes, "You can close your mouth now."

"Sorry…" Anna sputtered, "I just didn't realize… What about all those people you hang out with? You have thousands of friends."

"Yeah, they hung around for the parties, but you were the one willing to go to the doctor with me when I was terrified I might be pregnant. And the one willing to sit there and listen to me cry every time one of the ' _loves of my life_ ' broke up with me. Between all of the screams, I always thought we were pretty close."

Anna remained silent, still trying to wrap her mind around the fact Bella considered her such a close friend. There had been a few times when they really supported each other like true friends. Belle was the one to take on the girl who stole Anna's clothes from the locker room and had generally made her teen years miserable. She never told Anna what happened, but the next time Anna saw her bully, the girl walked with a slight limp. And who could ever forget the time Anna _borrowed_ Raven's car? If Belle hadn't been there to calm her down, she would have cracked the moment Raven gave her _the_ _stare_ and demanded to know why she had a red scrape on her bumper.

"Having someone fool you like that," Belle paused a moment when Anna winced, "Can be pretty damn horrible. I won't lie."

"See?" Anna couldn't hear anymore. She couldn't listen to another person tell her how much she hurt them. There were far too many people wounded from her actions already, "If you know it so well, you already know that he couldn't… no one could ever really move past that."

"Would you let me finish my thought?" She rolled her eyes at Anna's nervous interruptions and fidgety attempts to leap off the bed and run for the hills. "It is horrible, but I do forgive you. This," she gestured at the space between them, "makes any kind of forgiveness or moving onward possible."

"You can't forgive me just because we talked for an hour."

"I can forgive whoever I want, thank you very much. Besides, if we got this far in one hour, you and Remy must be even further after three." She smiled at her cousin, "Talking is just a part of it, Anna. I know you have a good heart and, yeah, you made one giant mistake… Well, we _both_ made some giant mistakes…but you don't deserve to be alone and miserable for the rest of your life."

"I forgive you too, Belle," Anna admitted as she finally began to realize what her cousin was telling her. After a moment she dared to show the tiniest amount of hope by asking, "You…you really believe that?"

Belle leaned closer and tapped their shoulders together, "It might have been my name, but it was your heart that he fell for."


	23. All I Want For Christmas Is You

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The X-Men Or Anything Related To The X-Men. I Also Do Not Own The Chapter Title Song, 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' By Mariah Carey Either.**

 **The Chapter Title Song Is, 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' By Mariah Carey.**

 **Thank you for reading the last chapter everyone. I appreciate you guys and gals taking time out of your busy lives to look at this new chapter. This story has grown on me since the start, and will hopefully have a sequel someday. Thank you for reading through this story and enjoy the new chapter:**

* * *

As the stewardesses' voice drifted over the airplane speakers and alerted everyone to return their seats to the full upright position and turn off their electronic devices, Remy LeBeau chuckled to himself and locked his phone screen. He placed the device in his pocket and started to gather the stuff spread haphazardly on his fold down tray.

"What's so funny?" The woman in the window seat to his left asked as she stretched out her arms.

"Jean's e-mail."

"How is she feeling?" The smaller brunette piped up from the seat behind the pair. She ignored the request of the blinking light above their heads to buckle her seatbelt and leaned over their shoulders. "Is she still sick to her stomach?"

"Oui." He admitted and laughed when the woman next to him made a dissatisfied expression, "Keep making that face and it could freeze like that, Anna Marie."

"At least I'm not laughing about my friend's morning sickness, Cajun." She countered giving him a look that clearly stated she figured the laugh would come back to bite him in the butt.

"Wasn't laughing at that." Remy leaned closer to Anna and showed her the message, "They told Big Nate today. Apparently, he is royally pissed his new brother or sister won't be there for his birthday party next week."

"Did they tell him he has to wait about six more months?"

"Would you want to tell Nathan that?" Kitty laughed after taking the question for Remy.

"Good point." Anna smiled and noticed a few familiar landmarks outside her window.

She still wasn't sure how she'd somehow wound up flying back to Mississippi with one Remy LeBeau. It all seemed so unreal to think they were talking, let alone trying to be friends. Part of her was unable to avoid wondering if he ever missed the warmth of their stolen kisses, as much as she did. Every so often, she couldn't help but stare at his face or his muscular arms and remember the way he once whispered in her ear and held her so tightly against his chest.

"I kind of thought we'd have like taken your personal jet," Kitty mumbled to Remy after the steward snapped at her for not being buckled up.

"How much money, you think I got petit?" He chuckled then turned his attention to Anna who was sitting with a content, if not dreamy, smile plastered on her face.

It was hard to imagine he had once been considering leaving any trace of Anna Marie Darkholme behind him. Somehow, through her overactive flight reflex and his frustration, they'd settled into a new relationship of sorts. Being friends was great on some levels since it let him stay close and yet still gave them room to figure out who they were or might want to be in the future. But it had its own problems as well.

Sitting next to her without being able to take her soft hand in his own was starting to pull at his last nerve. Was it so bad that he wanted to wrap an arm around her waist and kiss those full pink lips again? They had both agreed it would be best to take things slow. It had been an agonizingly long five weeks since their official heart to heart. They kept everything civil and friendly through each interaction, but maybe that wasn't enough for the young man anymore. He didn't know what she felt, a thought that ate at him quite a bit, but he was starting to understand that he wanted more than just being Anna's buddy. He wondered if Anna realized each day spent near the _real_ her, made him want to be close to her even more.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

She blinked her eyes as if she had been far away from the noisy airplane, "What?"

"You keep that goofy grin on your face and people might start suspecting things, Chere." The nickname slipped out of his mouth like sliding into a pair of comfortable shoes.

"And what might they think, Swampie?" She leaned closer to him, telling herself it was just to hear him over the gate change announcements.

"That you may be daydreaming 'bout some handsome fella taking more than just an interest in those lips."

She wasn't sure if his head moved first or if it was her own, but she leaned yet a little closer, wondering the whole time what was racing through his mind.

She whispered, "Is that so, Caju-"

The landing gear hit the ground, forcing her body to snap back into the seat. Remy gripped the armrests and silently cursed under his breath as their possible moment passed them by. Goofy grin, stubborn pout, or sweet smile didn't matter, he realized as his brain continued to grumble, that what mattered was how much he really wanted to kiss Anna Marie Darkholme.

Maybe they weren't a couple, then or now, and maybe they were stupid to not take things even slower. But at that moment he didn't care. All Remy LeBeau wanted, was a chance to hold her in his arms and not have someone, or some air pocket, ruin the scene.

When the seatbelt light finally went out, Anna unbuckled and tried to regain her sea legs. She didn't have anything against flying, when the weather was nice and the plane stayed level, at least. The trick pilot who flew this contraption had apparently decided today was national loop-dee-loop day. Not only had that been hard on her stomach, but her anxiety level had been riding its own roller coaster between thoughts about the flight and thoughts of a certain Swamp Rat. She just couldn't stop thinking about what could have happened between her and Remy.

She'd been scared to talk with him even after their get-to-know-you coffee and Bella's pep talk. Part of her was afraid that maybe time, even the few hours before she approached the tour managers later that morning, would be enough to wake him from this whole dream. That possibly, the moment she stepped into Ororo's hotel room, the spell would be broken and she would go back to being another random groupie in his sight.

The fears, as it turned out, were completely unfounded. Remy, through some courage or dedication she couldn't understand, walked right into her meeting with Ororo. Anna's plan, as misguided and poorly figured out as it was, had been simple; take the blame for everything, apologize profusely, drop out, and run for the hills. If it weren't for Remy's suggestion, the plan would have gone off without a hitch.

Who would have ever believed Belle and Ororo would agree to _another_ substitution? It was all so simple really. Anna would stay on to teach Belle some of the newer songs and come show time, the right girl would finally dance onto the stage. The audience still got their opening act and Belle got her overdue credit. In the end, the whole thing was probably cinched the moment Logan gave The Gambit's frazzled manager a small wink. Quick as it was, Anna knew that it meant something since it gave Ororo the last boost of confidence to agree to a _temporary_ attempt of the plan.

"Did you hear anything out of Belle?" Kitty asked her as Remy fished stuff out of the overhead compartments.

"Yeah. She took the offer she got to open for that new techno group."

Kitty raised an eyebrow as she took her bag from Remy and started to follow the crowd towards the door, "Why would she do that? I mean, there were like a ton of offers from other places that were better."

She knew exactly why her cousin took that particular offer. Belle wanted something she earned on her own. It was the same reason Anna turned down the offers fake Bella Donna received at the start of the tour. There was no longer any reason, or want, for the women to pretend to be something they weren't or rely on the approval of random guys. It was a fresh start for everyone involved.

Anna was determined to get musical attention under her own name, no matter how hard it would be. While Belle was focusing her energy on her career and not the three men in the new band she was working with. It was a healthier place for both of them. And even with the uncertainty surrounding her relationship with Remy, Anna could still say she was actually happy.

She smiled to herself as the thought occurred to her. Teaching Belle the new moves and trying to start a real friendship with Remy kept her so busy there hadn't been time to stop and ruminate about all of her worries and fears. Each night when her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep almost instantly. For the first time in a long time, she felt almost good about herself.

"Anna!" Raven's voice greeted her the moment they reached the baggage claim. She engulfed her daughter in a tight hug and then turned her attention to the others.

"How was the flight?" She inquired casually enough as she stood surprisingly close to Remy.

"Turbulent," Anna mumbled, distracted by the way her mother seemed to be staring at the Cajun. What was she up to now?

"Good, good." Raven answered as if she hadn't heard a word, "Now, let's get these bags and head out. You are due at rehearsal in less than thirty minutes."

"You must be joking." She blinked in shock and hoisted her checked bag over her shoulder. "You knew we weren't getting in until three, mama."

"And you know the rehearsal slots fill up fast." Raven countered and took Anna's carry on.

As they made their way through the crowded airport, Anna could practically smell the fishiness of her mother's actions. The smiling woman was _way_ too happy for just a normal greeting. She seemed as weirdly bubbly as she had been when Anna first called to explain what happened between her, Belle, and Remy. What was going on in Raven's twisted little mind? And why was Kitty suddenly racing faster than all of them to the parking lot?

"I don't know if all of you will be able to fit in here," Raven announced as they approached her overstuffed car.

As Kitty threw in her bag and Raven added Anna's carry on and checked bags to the last free spots in the backseat, the whole thing began to make sense. The two pranksters busily climbing into the car's only free seats were forcing them to stick together. Despite Remy and Anna's insistence, they were just friends, it wasn't enough for Kitty and the meddlesome Raven.

"Funny mama." Anna frowned after watching Remy shove his bags in the back hatch area. When she looked back to the front of the car, she watched Raven whisper something into Remy's ear, before shutting her car door. "You seriously plan on taking our stuff and leaving us in the cold?"

"Heaven's no." The older woman smiled broadly and handed Anna a small amount of money, "You and Remy can ride a cab over to the rehearsal hall. I already told him the best way to get there."

"What? Why would he need to kno-"

"Don't worry, Chere." Remy smiled at her and Anna felt her heart skip a little quicker. She knew that crooked grin and had been waiting for what felt like an eternity to see him share it with her again. "We'll be fine."

As Raven and Kitty pulled out of the parking lot and into the street, Remy directed Anna over to the waiting line of taxis. He flagged one down easily and whispered the directions so quietly to the cabby that she wasn't able to understand a word. Even without an explanation, she knew they were heading the wrong way as the cabbie took a left onto the main road instead of a right.

"Seriously," She sighed and watched Remy smirk, "Where are we going?"

"There." He pointed towards a building she knew extremely well as the taxi pulled up to the curb.

The Sugar Cookie Diner was a staple in town. They had been a part of the city since the early days of fifties malt shops and poodle skirts. To Anna, the importance of the diner was far more personal. Their grilled cheese sandwiches were the only food she would eat for the first three months she lived with Raven, her mother had taken Kurt and her out for one of the place's fancy hot chocolates every year on their birthdays, and it had been in their favorite booth in the far back that Raven first asked if she would like to be part of their forever family.

"How did you?" She gave the cabbie the money her mother had handed her earlier and noted it was almost the exact fare amount. "She planned this, didn't she?"

"Seems so." Remy laughed and watched Anna pull out her phone when it emitted a jingle.

Anna stared at the screen and couldn't help but smile; _Enjoy a day out and don't think about any shows. I'll see you at home tonight_.

Maybe her mom had a point, as well as an uncanny ability to understand what Anna had been thinking for the past few weeks. She wanted a chance to spend alone time with Remy and this seemed as good as any. She'd have to remember to thank her mother later.

 _Also bought you some extra make-up. No reason to show off hickeys to a room full of old women before we ask them to donate thousands._

Then again, Anna figured to herself as she pocketed her phone before a third text could appear, maybe she would thank _and_ grumble at her mother.

The streets and walkways outside the diner were pretty much empty from traffic due to the cold weather and the Christmas rush having long since ended. The pair walked into the surprisingly crowded diner and ordered two of the special hot chocolates to go. Most of the people seemed content to snuggle in a cozy diner booth, but Anna was more interested in showing Remy around the town.

They waltzed in silence down the sidewalks, only breaking the companionable quietness long enough for Anna to point out a few landmarks. Remy nodded his head accordingly and asked a few questions, but most of his attention was spent staring at his beautiful tour guide. He was still tossing the idea of 'just friends' versus trying for something else in his head and had not gotten much farther in the debate than he did on the plane.

When she suggested they take a seat on a bench near the large fountain in the center of town, he readily agreed and noted she sat closer than absolutely necessary. The question of what she thought about their situation was placed just as deeply in his head as the question of how he felt about everything. Anna appeared like she was interested in being more, but there was just so much that he didn't know for certain. It all seemed so much easier when she was just Rogue and he was just Remy. There was no stress, at least not on his side, just a fun atmosphere of flirting and friendship.

"So," She eyed his half-finished hot chocolate with a small smile, "What do you think?"

"Not bad."

" _Not bad_?" Anna spun out the words in false shock then playfully scoffed at him, "That, my friend, is the world's best hot chocolate."

The term 'my friend' stuck out to him far brighter than any of her other statements for the past half-hour. Still, he managed a smile and tossed his own comment right back at her. Anna grinned a tiny bit wider, causing her eyes to shimmer brightly.

The feeling of his heartbeat quickening forced the young man to take the next step. He couldn't live in this weird middle ground. Remy wanted to know what she was thinking.

"Anna," He spoke slowly and watched her eyes like a hawk. She always stared at him a little strangely when he used her real name as if the novelty of the sound still hadn't worn off. "Are you happy?"

"Well, yes. I mean…"

"You mean?"

"Why wouldn't I be happy?" She turned away from him, feeling her nerves overcome her calm façade, "I mean, Bella and I are actually getting along, Ororo didn't kill Kitty and me when all the stuff came out, and you and I are still friends."

There was that word again, "Oui. We're friends."

"Yeah." She felt her heart beat faster as all of the ideas about what they could be raced past her mind, "And it's great." She stood up and motioned to the opposite direction of their bench, "Why don't we go see th-"

"Anna," He gripped her hand and gently pulled her back down. Realizing it was now or never Remy gazed into her eyes, "Are you happy being just friends or maybe," He leaned in closer to her face and spotted her familiar grin sneak onto her lightly tanned face, "we could be something else?"

Anna closed the gap between them the moment his words cut off. She felt his hand hold hers a little tighter and his head shift to accommodate the growing force of their kiss. He reached out his free hand, letting it tangle up in her deep brown locks, and left it cupping the back of her head as she pulled her lips away. Anna's breath came out faster as she softly laughed and left their foreheads lightly touching.

"Is that supposed to be a yes, Chere?" He teased through that heart-stopping crooked grin.

"I think I could definitely handle trying to be a _something else_ , Cajun." She kissed him once more and for the first time since meeting Remy LeBeau, felt nothing but pure happiness.


End file.
